The Cosmic Age
by Familiar47
Summary: Long after the days of the Courier and the Lone Wanderer, humanity uses the technology of alien visitors to build themselves back up. When they reach out into the cosmos however, they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous. Rated for violence and language. Bashing kept at a minimum.
1. Prologue

Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When humanity reaches too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, sorry folks, but this is a timeline chapter. Feel free to skip and just use this chapter to reference events or characters that are mentioned in future chapters.

 **edit: A big thanks to Wanderer101 for pointing out an error relating to the Mid Western Brotherhood. Long story short: I should not have waited so long to post this while saving it on both a thumb drive AND a laptop, a certain fact was lost in between my bouts of writer's block and I didn't even notice until he pointed it out for me in a very constructive and respectful way.**

 **(FALLOUT 4 RELATED SPOILER ALERT)**

 **When Fallout 4 comes out and I play the hell out of it, I'm naming my first character in it after your username. Let the people of the wastelands fear and admire the man who shall be known Wanderer101...who apparently drew the short straw in the name department considering he's apparently from the pre Great War era according to the E3 footage.**

Xxx

Timeline

 **2277-** The Lone Wanderer, Logan Mason (son of James Mason) almost dies in securing the use of the Purifier for the Washington Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel.

After recovering he goes on to lead the Brotherhood in securing the Capital Wastelands against the Enclave and Super Mutant hordes.

Adams Airforce Base is destroyed and the Brotherhood of Steel, with technology and resources salvaged from Enclave outposts, goes to work on reconstructing parts of Washington D.C.

Logan secures Mothership Zeta and begins to use its advanced technology to assist the Washington Brotherhood by upgrading its arsenal and providing new technologies. The city of New Washington is formed, with the Brotherhood providing security and the denizens of Rivet City, Megaton, Big Town and Underworld providing workers.

 **2278-** The Midwestern Brotherhood comes into contact with the Outcasts and becomes aware of the actions of the Washington Chapter. A whole company of Brotherhood soldiers enters the Capital Wastelands to arrest and execute Elder Lyons, only to be pinned down on the edge of New Washington by superior numbers. Their Captain agrees to meet with Mason and is persuaded to order his men to stand down, having been convinced that the Washington Brotherhood's new ways are better for the Brotherhood as a whole. Those who disagree are permitted to return to the west along with the Outcasts while almost a quarter of the invasion force chooses to remain in the Capital Wastelands.

Arthur Maxson is persuaded to send a message to the Midwestern Chapter along with any remaining elements of the Brotherhood in the west such as Texas, Montana, Mojave and California. Only the Midwestern Brotherhood receives this message, which implores them to stand down and accept that the Brotherhood of Steel must change.

A schism occurs in the Midwestern Brotherhood, resulting in almost a third defecting to the Washington Brotherhood after months of infighting, leaving the remnants of the Midwestern chapter at barely a quarter of its original strength as elements flee to the west or to Texas where Arthur Maxson's message is finally received. The Texas Brotherhood chooses to honour the Maxson lineage and proclaims allegiance to the Washington Brotherhood.

At this point Elder Lyons is made aware of the de-evolution of the once proud Midwestern Brotherhood, which had been founded with the intention of allowing for recruitment of tribals and non humans almost a century ago. After defeating every enemy close to its base in Chicago the Brotherhood began a slow decline, having only common bandits and mutants to fight-and often press into service if they had enough intellect to follow orders. Over time a stern but fair rule over the region had turned into a harsh dictatorship in which Brotherhood Elders would exercise their power over the tribals, forbidding them from possessing any form of technology (including basic electricity, medical supplies and running water in the last few years) unless they joined the ranks of the Brotherhood.

While kept safe, the people living under the Midwestern chapter were living in a dark age, and their guardians were more interested in maintaining their own power. This state was attributed to the fact that anybody who proved themselves useful as a warrior was able to rise quickly through the ranks...including former bandits, mutant raiders and criminals who joined up to avoid an inevitable execution. In addition, non human members of the Midwestern chapter have been receiving consistently poorer treatment in the past decades by the human dominant Brotherhood in Chicago.

While these conditions appall Elder Lyons, he is not willing to begin a war so soon after finishing the skirmish with the Enclave, and chooses to consolidate power while planning how to eventually deal with the totalitarian Midwestern Chapter's remnants. Those who fled to Texas or Washington bolster the ranks of both chapters, who condemn the actions of the Midwestern Brotherhood.

As for the Outcasts who had gone to the Midwestern Chapter for help...they soon discovered that the only thing they and their brothers in Chicago agreed on was the need for keeping technology out of the hands of outsiders. When they realized how the Midwestern chapter was recruiting mutants their stay quickly turned grim, and only a few of their number succeeded in escaping, scattering into the wastelands to either rejoin the Brotherhood back east or die alone in the wilderness, devoid of any further purpose.

 **2279-** With the technology of Mothership Zeta and command over two sections of the Brotherhood of Steel, Logan Mason is declared to be the new Elder by Lyons before his death. Logan promises that once Arthur is of sufficient age and experience he shall surrender command to him, and begins to train Arthur alongside Sarah Lyons.

Elements of the Enclave hidden in Canada come out of hiding and reveal that they had been hidden in Vaults secretly constructed after the annexation of Canada, each containing soldiers in stasis pods with pre-war weaponry, robotic soldiers to supplement these armies and numerous samples of technology developed by Vault-Tec. These divisions were awakened by surviving members of the Washington Enclave who fled north after the destruction of Raven Rock to enact the 'Winter Soldier Protocol' by reactivating these vaults.

The Enclave makes numerous attempts to raid the Capital Wastelands, managing to capture samples of Theta technology and soon begin to attempt a full scale invasion, only for Mason to reveal Mothership Zeta and annihilate an entire division of Enclave Vertibirds and a small fleet of Enclave warships on route to New Washington. Enclave President William Irons' first act as president is to sue for peace, which his predecessor zealously opposed, and a treaty is created between New Washington and New Washington...the latter of which was forced to change its name as part of the Treaty, resulting in the Enclave capital being renamed Capital City.

An uneasy peace hangs between the two cities, which quickly turns into a Cold War as the Enclave persists in achieving its Manifest Destiny of ruling over what used to be the United States of America. Attempts are made to infiltrate Mothership Zeta, but advanced sensor equipment allows Mason to pick out and eliminate spies and traitors before they can achieve any significant acts of sabotage or espionage. The Enclave stops similar attempts at infiltration, and looks to conquering the Canadian wastelands in the meantime.

 **2281-** The Courier, Alice Shepard, is shot in the head and left for dead while transporting a package to New Vegas. After recovering she tracks down her would-be killer, Benny, and chooses to strike an alliance with him to depose Mr House on the condition that they use the Securitron Army to bring protection to the people of Mojave rather than conquest.

The Brotherhood of Steel's Mojave Chapter is convinced to join what becomes the Mojave Alliance, which consists of the Boomers, Kings, varying settlements and even elements of the NCR army who wish to defect. Fringe elements of other tribes such as the Great Khans join after the majority of their ranks are decimated. Mr House is presumably killed, and Benny and Shepard pretend to assist the NCR at Hoover Dam, driving Caesar's Legion out after inflicting heavy casualties. The NCR is then forced to leave Mojave, the majority of its already thinned ranks either under equipped or injured by the end of the war.

 **2282-** The Mojave Alliance is established, with the Brotherhood of Steel making use of production facilities to increase production of Securitrons, power armour, energy weapons and even a single Zeta energy pistol claimed by Shepard from a crashed alien vessel, which is also taken in for research. The NCR begins to bolster its border garrisons and makes long term plans to retake the Mojave before being invited to a summit by Shepard.

Shepard and Benny offer to make use of Hoover Dam and provide energy to the NCR in addition to selling limited amounts of advanced technology such as outdated laser and plasma weapons or power armour to the NCR along with assistance in creating production facilities to create more weapons and armour. The NCR eventually elects to put any plans for conquering the Mojave on hold and use the next few years to incorporate these technologies into their armies.

 **2283-** Mojave finally begins to rebuild and secure settlements while Securitron units accompanied by newly built Boomer airplanes scour the countryside to the east, wiping out pockets of Legionnaires and ensuring that the Legion cannot make a second attempt at invading. The Hoover Dam provides energy to the NCR and Mojave settlements while both sides settle into a cold war similar to that of the New Washington and Capital City factions. While the NCR possesses superior numbers the Mojave Alliance has superior weaponry, a sizable Securitron Army, reconnaissance planes equipped with scanning equipment taken from the Big Mountain R&D Center that can spot any approaching invasion force and a united wasteland that the Republic cannot take advantage of.

 **2285-** The NCR makes an attempt at invading the Mojave Alliance territory, having acquired enough information to slip a small force past the border and establish a foothold in several abandoned Vaults where they begin to conduct raids on settlements and convoys. While preparing for war Shepard hears rumors of the Washington Brotherhood and sends a single Vertibird east to gain assistance.

The NCR begins a full invasion, committing almost thirty five thousand soldiers against the Mojave Alliance's seventeen thousand soldiers and ten thousand Securitrons. For the most part the two armies are left in a standoff, exchanging shots from trenches west of New Vegas while the Boomers attempt to bomb the Republic lines only to be met with Anti Aircraft artillery.

The messenger Vertibird is shot down in the Midwestern Chapter's territory, which is embroiled in a vicious war between the brotherhood and remnants of Caesar's Legion, and Paladin Jack Carson is the only one to escape. The Midwestern Brotherhood refuses to assist him and even killed his few remaining companions upon discovering their mission. Jack abandons his armour and continues east on foot, trekking through hostile territory for months.

 **2286-** The Washington Brotherhood is informed of the situation in Mojave, and Mason departs on Mothership Zeta with an army of Brotherhood warriors and Super Mutant Shock Troops gathered by Fawkes. They arrive at the Mojave within minutes of leaving the Capital Wasteland and, in a shocking attack, systematically blast Republic artillery emplacements and then deploy their army right amongst the Republic lines. Over a hundred Brotherhood Paladins and just as many super mutants sew chaos into the NCR ranks while the Mojave forces push forward, their Securitron infantry clearing a path and allowing the regular Mojave army to flank the disorganized NCR from the and the Boomers to bombard the northern flank far from where the Washington forces have landed

The Mojave Alliance and New Washington army route the Republic Army, killing upwards of ten thousand soldiers and taking as many as five thousand prisoners (many requiring medical treatment afterwards) while the rest flee back west. Shepard and Mason officially form a treaty between their two factions. Mothership Zeta is used to force the NCR to declare an unconditional surrender after appearing in Republic air space and threatening to bombard military installations. Mason forces the new president of the NCR, Janet Gray, to sign a treaty that will allow the NCR to remain independent while forcing it to recognize the Mojave Alliance and New Washington province as allies.

With the NCR no longer a threat Mason and Shepard look to the holdouts of the Midwestern chapter. With help from the Texas Brotherhood they begin to occupy the Midwestern Chapter's region with soldiers transported by Mothership Zeta and force the Midwestern chapter to surrender while annihilating the remains of Caesar's Legion. Caesar himself is executed by Benny, who comments 'From where you're kneeling it must seem like an eighteen karat run of bad luck. Truth is: the game was rigged from the start' before shooting Caesar in the head.

Benny and Shepard later have a daughter, Joanna 'Jo' Shepard (Benny admits that he lacks a proper surname and they mutually agree to use Shepard's name).

 **2287-** With a large amount of land under their combined protection stretching from the west coast to the east coast, the leaders of New Washington, the Mojave Alliance and the NCR see an opportunity to truly rebuild civilization across North America. They begin to make use of production facilities to create Securitron divisions, modifying designs to allow them to operate in difficult terrain and even adapting anti-gravity technology from Mothership Zeta to allow the Securitron armies to serve as the vanguard of a combined effort to secure land.

All three factions agree to divide different regions of the United States. The NCR receives the west coast states along with Mexico, the Mojave Alliance receives the Midwestern states, and New Washington receives the east coast along with parts of the Canadian Coast and Quebec. They declare the founding of the Allied States of America.

 **2290-** Logan Mason and Sarah Lyons finally have a son, and Logan steps down to allow Arthur Maxson to take command of the Brotherhood of Steel, with all divisions across the ASA answering to the young but capable leader, who names himself to be the High Inquisitor of the Brotherhood while each chapter is granted an Elder of its own to administer day to day activities. Arthur Maxson's first decision is to scout to the north and south, deploying long range reconnaissance drones newly developed by Benny and his corporation: Mojave Robotics and Aerospace.

The Enclave is revealed to have conquered almost half of Canada, and possesses a population of almost a million. It makes use of a cloning facility to create expendable and loyal soldiers, and is preparing to go to war with the ASA to 'reclaim American soil'. President William Irons was deposed when he attempted to oppose further plans against the ASA, having grown weary of constantly plotting to reclaim lands filled with people who didn't even want the Enclave or their ideals.

Mason infiltrates the Enclave with help from Colonel Boone and Dr Arcade Gannon of the Mojave Alliance and assists Irons in winning the loyalty of the Enclave's citizens with campaigns discrediting the current president, Robert Hayes. After several months William Irons leads a coup that ends with him returning to office and declaring that the Enclave would focus only on expanding through Canada and Alaska, and would no longer attempt to conquer the territories of the ASA.

Elements of the Enclave, now named Manifest, flee into secret arctic bases in order to build up and eventually 'return the Enclave to its true path' of restoring Post-War America.

Logan Mason, upon returning to New Washington, was immediately met by his wife, who then proceeded to brutally beat and berate her husband in front of an entire crowd for leaving just after their son had been born. Logan spent the entire time just smiling and laughing before being dragged back to the Mason residence where they spent the entire night racking up noise complaints. Their son Alex spent the night in the care of Fawkes.

 **2300-** In the previous decade most of North and South America have been explored and reclaimed by either the ASA or by local governments supported by the ASA. Total population figures across both continents reach nearly fifty million. The ASA, which now includes two other factions across South America begins to look to the rest of the world and deploy expeditions.

Africa was not as badly hit during the war over two centuries ago. It is lightly irradiated in some areas, but there are even whole countries that are not too different compared to how they had been before the war. However mutant hordes migrated down from Europe or developed in South Africa over the centuries. Africa has only several regions that have stable governments, and all are without the advanced technology that Post-War America has benefitted from. Inquisitor Maxson plans to deploy a Brotherhood Inquisition Force to Africa to begin constructing a stable region to operate from.

Europe is in a similar state to America, having been hit in no less than six major cities during the war. There are three major factions: The New British Empire operating from the security and safety of the British Isles, which were only hit by a single nuclear missile (which struck London while the rest were intercepted) and had decentralized a great deal of its assets prior to the war, and since then had focused on consolidating its remaining resources and defending its borders from pirates and aquatic mutants; The Sun Legion, led by a man who, in a manner similar to Caesar, had styled himself after a French monarch known as King Louis XIV, or Louis the Great in order to gather a massive army from across Europe; and finally the Roman Catholic Protectorate operating in Italy with its capital in Rome, which had been spared from the nuclear holocaust along with the Vatican (which had been spared intentionally). President Gray plans to send an envoy to contact the NBE and RCP, as they appear far more reasonable than the Sun King and his legion.

Russia, despite being a heavy target in the war, has maintained a civilization since the beginning of the twenty second century. It had dozens of vaults built, and unlike Vault Tech's each had been designed with a nuclear holocaust specifically in mind rather than to conduct tests on the inhabitants. Each vault held at least ten thousand people, and led a strict lifestyle in which every vault dweller was trained in multiple fields. Once these vaults opened the inhabitants hooked up with one another to form an alliance as per the plan set out by the Pre-War government, and within a decade they had managed to establish settlements across Russia and by this point had been simply dealing with raids from Asia and the Sun Legion. Maxson plans to dispatch envoys while President Irons plans contingencies in the event of Russian hostility.

Asia is mainly ruled by the descendants of the Chinese government, which also had protocols for a nuclear war similar to Russia's. The re-emerged Chinese Empire, operating out of the Forbidden City, has been focusing on both reclaiming lost knowledge and on eventually resuming battle against their American foes under the leadership of their emperor. A nuclear missile that has recently finished construction is set to be fired upon the site of the Lost Hills Bunker based on outdated information of it being the headquarters of the Brotherhood of Steel. Maxson arranges for Mothership Zeta to monitor China and intercept any intercontinental missiles fired, and deems relations with the Chinese Empire to be a priority.

 **2300-** Alice Shepard arrives in the Forbidden City as part of a delegation to the Chinese Emperor. Despite not being an official dignitary she convinces him in private to agree to a peace summit with the ASA, as well as saving his life from a planned assassination by an insurgent group within the Empire. An alliance is formed between the Chinese Empire and the ASA, and the intercontinental missile is surrendered in return for Inquisitor Maxson assisting in founding a Chinese Brotherhood of Steel to serve as Imperial Special Forces and shock troops.

Joanna Shepard and Alexander Mason are kidnapped by spies from the Sun Legion during their stay in the Forbidden City, revealing that the Sun Legion has access to a sister ship of Mothership Zeta which King Louis intends to use to conquer the world. King Louis attempts to threaten Mason and Shepard into surrendering over a live conversation between both mother ships, only for Joanna to break free with Alex and escape via a teleporter after using her knowledge of Zeta technology to cause the ship to plummet. The Sun Legion Mother Ship is saved in time, however Joanna and Alex's location is unknown and Maxson is able to lock onto the now revealed ship and fire the Chinese missile at it, striking the ship as it hovers over Paris and causing it to fall on the Eifel Tower, killing the Sun King and a good portion of his legion camped within the city.

The NBE and RCP agree to meet with dignitaries from the ASA and Chinese Empire, with Russia sending its own diplomat to the meeting in the ruins of the Palace of Versailles. Inquisitor Maxson agrees to share technology and information with all of the factions that agree to sign a charter that arranges the creation of a substitute for the United Nations of old.

The Alliance of Nations is formed after numerous attempts by insurrectionist elements within several factions and outsider groups attempt to turn rulers against one another and spark a new war. Mothership Zeta is deemed property of the Brotherhood of Steel, which is to remain independent of all other nations and interests so as to avoid attempts at hijacking it in the interests of one power or another.

Shepard and Mason focus on searching for their missing children while Inquisitor Maxson is engaged to the commanding officer of the Russian Winter Guard (the equivalent of the Brotherhood of Steel, and has been absorbed into the BoS' ranks), Agatha Bdeniye.

Plans are drawn up to bring order to any other regions in Eurasia and then eventually to Africa and Australia.

 **2303-** Sarah Mason gives birth to Owen Mason.

Regions across Europe and Asia are pacified and secured along with islands in the Pacific and Atlantic that have not even suffered from any nuclear radiation.

 **2305-** Joanna Shepard and Alex Mason still have yet to be found. Alice Shepard has recently given birth to another daughter, Hannah. Sarah Mason has fallen ill. Agatha Maxson gives birth to Jason Maxson.

Alliance armies have established coastal settlements on Africa and begin to deploy companies to recruit from local villages to begin establishing both an African Brotherhood of Steel and Inquisition Force to begin restoring order.

 **2306-** Joanna Shepard and Alex Mason are discovered in South Africa where it is revealed that the source of the Super Mutants is really a third Zeta Mother Ship. This time the crew is taken alive by a covert Brotherhood squadron that succeeds in rescuing over four hundred human captives that were due to be turned into mutants by the aliens.

As the Shepard and Mason families are reunited, Agatha Maxson handles interrogating the captain of the mother ship using a translation device that establishes a non-invasive telepathic link between the two. She discovers after some coaxing that the Zeta Mother Ships are part of a small fleet that fled from their destroyed home world following a global conflict and attempted to use humanity as test subjects to develop a servant race to use as a work force in rebuilding their civilization on Mars. The mother ships were the majority of their still functioning military vessels, and now two have been destroyed and another two captured by the Alliance.

Joanna Shepard and Alex Mason had been teleported to South Africa after escaping from the Sun Legion Mother Ship in France, and had spent the last few years attempting to contact their families and free people trapped in South Africa by the aliens. They had only recently been captured after sending out the transmission which had drawn the Brotherhood to South Africa in the first place.

Joanna Shepard and Alex Mason are rewarded for their valor and the long time spent behind enemy lines. They are both granted positions in the Brotherhood of Steel by Maxson. Logan and Sarah Mason retire from service and return to New Washington where Joanna and Alex begin their training. Alice Shepard and Benny retire in New Vegas to care for Hannah and take time to visit Joanna.

 **2316-** Benny is killed in a surprise attack on New Vegas by Manifest forces, which have usually just raided the northern frontier of the Enclave. He is killed while protecting his wife and daughter Hannah from a fragmentation grenade, and dies after delivering the following statement: 'Lasted a lot longer than I thought I would, but I guess even my good luck had to run out.'

Alice Shepard returns to active duty despite counsel from others and leads a crusade against Manifest, raiding numerous bases. Thanks to Zeta medical technology she is able to perform as though she is twenty or thirty years younger, but her consistent injuries slowly being to affect her health. Joanna Shepard, now a Knight of the Brotherhood, travels to Canada to assist her mother alongside Alex Mason, who is a part of the Brotherhood Inquisition Division (Intelligence and Espionage).

 **2317-** Alice Shepard is killed while raiding the final known Manifest base, which appears to house the Zeta scout craft that she had stumbled upon decades ago in Mojave. Manifest was attempting to reverse engineer it to create a fleet of space capable fighter craft. Alice dies of wounds inflicted while storming the command center where Manifest personnel had been prepared to launch the remotely piloted fighters to bring down both Zeta Mother Ships owned by the Brotherhood of Steel. She killed over forty three Manifest Personnel, four Super Mutants fitted with control collars, six security robots and most importantly of all the commanding officer of Manifest: General Mycroft, who was survived by his son Ian Mycroft.

Sarah Mason dies two months later, her health having degraded over the past decade and only sustained by Zeta technology. She is buried alongside Alice and Benny in Goodsprings Cemetery while Mason raises Hannah Shepard and Owen Mason.

 **2340-** Logan Mason dies of natural causes at the age of eighty three years and is buried with his wife in Goodsprings Cemetery. On his death bed he mused on where the last 63 years had led him and leaves a journal detailing his adventures to his heir, Inquisitor Alexander Mason.

By this period almost every region on Earth has been reclaimed and secured by the Alliance, who have spent the last few decades researching space flight technology based off of what Manifest had developed and their own findings from the Zeta Mother Ships and lab facilities.

The first human built star ship is finished and is christened _The Wanderer_. It is able to hold a crew of twenty and is able to utilize Zeta based FTL, albeit at a much slower speed and with lower energy efficiency.

The Alliance, lead by High Inquisitor Arthur Maxson, prepares an invasion of Mars after a single probe dispatched to the planet reports that the Zeta population has begun building new warships.

The _Wanderer_ , accompanied by the two captured Zeta Mother Ships ( _Zeta I_ and _Zeta II_ ) is dispatched along with a force of over a hundred space flight capable fighters that are 'tugged' along through FTL flight by the Mother Ships. When they appear in orbit over Mars Maxson issues a statement to the Zeta, commanding them to surrender or be fired upon. When the Zeta response was to deploy their few warships and scout craft constructed in the last few years Maxson simply smiled grimly and ordered the landing force to prepare for a fight.

The human fleet lost over forty fighters while _Zeta II_ was badly damaged and later had to be dismantled. The Zeta fleet, which consisted of three warships and thirty scout craft had been decimated while two incomplete ships were captured along with the total Zeta population of one million. The groundside invasion had taken the lives of over eight thousand Zeta soldiers, which turned out to be the total body of their military strength; three thousand Alliance soldiers had died in securing the colony, and High Inquisitor Maxson had been wounded while duelling the alien commander to the death.

Once the final Zeta soldier was cut down the rest of the population surrendered quickly. As it turned out most of the Zeta on Mars were in fact just 'breeders' brought along by the military and administrative castes in order to ensure that the Zeta would have sufficient genetic material to repopulate.

The true name of the Zeta is revealed to be 'Prolat'.

When asked about why the Prolat Military and Admin Castes did not simply use this large number as a work force, it turned out that their culture was so rigid and unwilling to adjust that the civilians were forbidden to do anything but their own jobs. Barely two hundred thousand of the Prolats were builders, and they had been forbidden to assist in military projects such as constructing the warships. The rest were all farmers, meaning that the Prolat colony at least had enough food to sustain itself.

The Prolat had terraformed Mars using a process similar to the G.E.C.K, and decades of this prolonged effect had rendered Mars perfectly habitable for humans, Ghouls, Super Mutants, etc.

As his final order Maxson annexed the Prolat colony of Mars and then gave up command of the Brotherhood of Steel. He passed the mantle of leadership to his son, Jason Maxson (Age: 35) and returned to Earth to live in New Washington with his wife, who also retired from her position among the Brotherhood now that the final threat to mankind had been conquered.

High Inquisitor Jason Maxson hands over control of Mars to the Alliance and posts a division of Brotherhood Knights and Inquisitors there to form the Martian Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel. Rather than focusing on collecting technology the Brotherhood's new edict was to act as protector in both peace and war. The Martian Chapter would also focus on analyzing and converting Prolat technology for Alliance use.

For now the Prolat are confined to Mars and are under strict watch. Builders are permitted to assist in constructing the two new warships: _Zeta III_ and _Zeta IV_ while _Zeta I_ watches from orbit. The _Wanderer_ is returned to Earth while construction begins on new ships for other purposes such as mining or exploration.

 **2345-** Inquisitor Alex Mason and Paladin Joanna Shepard are brought to Mars to oversee the induction of the first Prolat recruits to the Brotherhood of Steel. After being deemed to be of no threat to humanity due to their submissive nature and the fact that the Military and Administrative Castes had been the ones responsible for the experiments conducted on humans over the centuries the former worker castes are now permitted full rights as citizens of the Alliance.

Forty two Prolat civilians are inducted into the Brotherhood of Steel, but the ceremony is attacked by remnants of Manifest forces lead by Ian Mycroft, who has heavily modified his body with Prolat based technology. He condemns the Alliance for how it would allow aliens to join its ranks, and swears a bloody vengeance before duelling and killing Joanna Shepard. Alex Mason drives Mycroft off and mourns for the loss of his old friend and lover. It is revealed that Joanna and Alex had secretly married several years after fully joining the Brotherhood but had never been able to conceive a child.

 **2346-** Manifest forces seem to pop out of nowhere more often, harassing Alliance operations throughout the Sol system. Mycroft is deemed a terrorist, but so far no success has been made in apprehending him. An exploration ship analyzing Pluto discovers a hidden mass within the ice while a survey team on Mars finds a hidden ruin that bears no signs of Prolat design.

Hannah Shepard gives birth to John Shepard.

Manifest forces, believing that a new mining operation on Pluto is a cover to recover more alien technology, attacks the site. Alex Mason responds with his personal ship and takes part in the Battle of Pluto. Over two hundred Manifest personnel and eighty Alliance miners and forty soldiers are killed. A resulting explosion causes Pluto to begin to crack apart in the area of the mining site, revealing a massive construct that begins to activate and further shatter the entire planet. Both sides retreat to their vessels and watch as Pluto is reduced to nothing, leaving only a massive artificial construct that contains a core of some unknown material in its place.

More Alliance forces arrive and drive away the Manifest raiders before securing the constructs.

The alien outpost on Mars suddenly activates in response to the construct. Alliance marines secure the site under command of the Brotherhood of Steel and wait for Jason Maxson to arrive.

Analysis of the outpost and construct reveal that the apparent builders were named Protheans, who had observed earth around fifty thousand years ago but had abandoned the outpost for unknown reasons. The Alliance discovers Element Zero and begins to implement it along with Mass Effect technology into both military technology and every day appliances. The most important discovery is that the Mass Relay is capable of transporting entire fleets across the galaxy within mere moments, and that there is an entire network of similar relays.

Prolat ingenuity and the designs derived from the Prothean Cache on Mars push development of star ships forward, skipping past decades or centuries of development and allowing the Alliance to begin full construction of space capable ships in mass. In addition the Alliance is able to heavily upgrade its computers with the creation of micro processors derived from Prothean technology (which turns out to be more easily adaptable than Prolat designs), but for the most part only minor features of the new technology are adapted to the Alliance's military hardware.

While there is wonder at what lays beyond the relay...there is also fear for what might come through it one day.

 **2347-** Fixed gun emplacements are moved into position near the relay along with the entire Alliance 1st Fleet and the Brotherhood of Steel's flotilla is on standby to assist.

Alliance President Gregory Irons, grandson of William Irons, decides to arrange for a manned mission through the Mass Relay, lead by Captain Jon Grissom aboard the _Wanderer_. This result yields the discovery of a new system with several other relays located throughout it, appearing to be a hub system of some kind. Once confirmed that the relay in Sol connects only to the relays located in the Arcturus System. The Brotherhood of Steel's fleet is positioned there to keep an eye on the area while the 1st Fleet guards the Sol side of the Charon Relay.

Within several months a series of survey platforms and drones are dispatched into the Arcturus System, but it is only when Arcturus Station itself is pulled through the relay that the Brotherhood of Steel is able to recall its fleet. Arcturus Station was constructed quickly at the Titan Shipyards and was dispatched along with the first battle group of what is to become the Alliance's 2nd Fleet.

An attempt by Manifest to destroy the relay is unsuccessful, as it appears that conventional explosives and weaponry cannot even damage the relay's hull. The Manifest battle group is destroyed, and plans are made to explore further beyond the Charon relay and even to attempt to explore systems that are not linked to the Mass Relay network.

By this point the 1st Fleet numbers at 132 vessels (8 Mother Ships, 15 Paladin Class Cruisers, 104 Wanderer Class Frigates, 5 Carriers)

The Brotherhood of Steel Fleet numbers at 53 vessels (45 Wanderer Class frigates, 6 Paladin Class Cruisers, 1 Mother Ship ( _Zeta I_ ) and 1 Carrier)

The 2nd Fleet currently consists of 24 ships (1 Mother Ship, 1 Paladin Class Cruiser, 22 Wanderer Class Frigates) with around a hundred more planned within the next five years.

Total Fleet Number: 10 Mother Ships, 22 Paladin Class Cruisers, 6 Carriers, 171 Wanderer Class Frigates. (209 ships)

 **2348-** First habitable planet discovered. Designated Demeter and marked for colonization.

Demeter Colony founded with a population of over 50 000, a mix of human, necro-human and Meta-Human with even a hundred Theta citizens. The Brotherhood of Steel posts a single company at Demeter on an orbiting space station protected by elements of the Brotherhood's new second flotilla, which is being divided between future colonies alongside the Alliance 2nd Fleet.

 **2352-** Alliance now possesses 5 colony worlds, the latest of which is Shanxi.

The Brotherhood of Steel has been given land on Shanxi to build a new Citadel to act as the Brotherhood's arm out in the colonies.

The 2nd Fleet is now complete and the 3rd Fleet is half finished.

The Brotherhood of Steel has 5 Flotillas now.

First Fleet (Assigned to Sol as the Home Fleet): 135 ships

Second Fleet (Assigned to Arcturus Station): 127 ships

Third fleet (Assigned to patrolling new colonies): 65 ships

1st Flotilla (Assigned to Sol as part of the Home Fleet): 62 ships

2nd Flotilla (Assigned to Arcturus and divided among the colonies): 34 ships

3rd Flotilla (Assigned to patrol between the colonies): 29 ships

4th Flotilla (Assigned to patrol resource colonies and stations): 25 ships

5th Flotilla (Assigned to Arcturus as a reserve force and quick reaction force): 16 ships

Total Fleet Strength: 493 ships

 **2353-** In the latest authorized expedition, first contact with an unknown alien race ensues.

The First Contact War begins.

Total Alliance Population Projection as of 2353

-Base Human (Homo Sapien): 343 million (including any with minor mutations from prolonged and treated radiation exposure and genetic disorders)

-Ghouls (Homo Mortuus): 84 million

-Super Mutants (Homo Mutata): 6 million

-Intelligent Death Claws (Homo Indomitus): 2 million

-Prolat: 1.5 million

-Total Alliance population: 436.5 million

Alliance Member States (not including states still claimed by any of the following)

-New Washington

-New America

-New California Republic

-Mojave Alliance

-New Chinese Empire

-New British Empire

-Roman Catholic Protectorate

-Russia

-Mars (declared a Prolat state)

Other states (extrasolar colonies) are free to petition for independence and representation in Alliance

Xxx

SHIP DESIGNS

Wanderer Class Frigate

-Standard compliment of twenty + six security personnel (can carry up to sixty soldiers)

-Armed with a standard forward plasma cannon and rotating laser turrets, forward and side torpedo bays, kinetic barriers

-Two assault shuttles

160 meters long,

Paladin Class Cruiser

-Standard compliment of ninety + forty security personnel/marine compliment (can carry up to four hundred soldiers)

-Armed with two plasma cannons, broadside laser cannons and laser turrets, forward and side torpedo bays, kinetic barriers

-Six Assault Shuttles

-Twelve Fighters

-840 meters long

Liberty Class Carrier

-Standard compliment of one hundred-ninety + sixty security personnel/marine compliment (can carry up to seven hundred-fifty soldiers)

-Sixty Assault Shuttles

-One hundred eighty Fighters

-Anti Ship Laser Cannons mounted on the side, laser turrets, kinetic barriers

-1060 meters long

Zeta Class Mother Ship

-After modifications, standard compliment of thirty + twenty security personnel (Can carry up to three hundred soldiers)

-Six assault shuttles

-Four Fighters

-Advanced Zeta Beam technology + shielding


	2. Chapter 1: Collision

Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council members/Council Races are incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

Another note: I intend to heavily edit this at some point, as I very likely made numerous mistakes and poor decisions with this chapter in how it was executed. I encourage you, the readers, to point these out to me so that I can fix or correct them before I move on. If I see the need then I will rewrite an entire chapter past a certain point, possibly changing the course of the story.

Xxx

Chapter One: Collision

 **March 8** **th** **, 2353**

 **Turian Patrol 3-14 (Third Fleet, Fourteenth Flotilla)**

 **Cruiser** _ **Valor**_

"Exiting relay in three...two...one," The Helmsman announced just before three Turian cruisers appeared back in normal space, all eight hundred meters of reinforced armour and weapons moving without a sound away from a vast two pronged construct with a bright blue core of element zero encircled by several rings.

Each cruiser had an angular shape, built with a pair of red and grey 'wings' that extended outwards, baring rows of GARDIAN laser turrets while their powerful mass accelerators occupied the central area, which was colored white, and smaller broadside accelerators lined the flanks of this section. All three cruisers were fine examples of Turian engineering, and each had enough fire power in them to level a city. Accompanying each of the vessels were six frigates, basically much smaller versions with greater manoeuvrability and speed, but sacrificing fire power in return. This fleet fell into perfect formation

"Transition achieved, drift within acceptable parameters, marking hub system." The Helmsman recited.

"Very good Ensign," Captain Kravos Prinius nodded in approval and rose from his chair, arms crossed. "Deploy sentry drones and mark every relay in this system. Give me a fleet wide status update and then stand down to alert condition one and resume standard patrol operations. Mark all hub relays and designate our target."

The small patrol fleet had been deployed to investigate on behalf of the Salarian Union to investigate a rather unexplored region of space close to its borders. During a briefing to justify this action Kravos had been informed of a recent development discovered by a team of Salarian scientists: an unauthorized relay activation.

Many centuries ago the Rachni Wars had been the result of irresponsible Mass Relay activations, and ever since the near annihilation of galactic civilization it had been prohibited by Citadel Law to open new pathways into unknown territories without first locating and investigating the connecting relay(s). This led to a momentary relay jump turning into months of travelling at conventional FTL across unknown space to scout out systems for new relays-if any were found at all. And this was if such an expedition could receive funding, official authorization and have sufficient armaments to be granted permission to depart.

Thanks to this paranoia Kravos was under orders to drag thousands of Turian soldiers to the edge of known civilization in some system that was only good for being stuffed with extra relays. Hub systems were a nightmare to protect unless the enemy you were defending against could only enter from one relay, so if who or whatever had activated this was foreign and about as friendly as the Rachni had been then they would have about a half dozen routes to travel from that would lead into the Salarian Union alone and twice as many into other territories.

But if it came to that they would first have to tiptoe past enough fire power to level a continent.

"Drone deployment finished, sir. All relays have been marked, so far no sign of anything besides us here." The sensor office reported and handed Kravos a data pad containing the information being streamed to her console by the dozens of drones now scattering throughout the system. "I've marked Relay 314 as you ordered, and as best I can tell it's active but has not been used for travel yet."

Kravos was known for possessing an appreciation for humor in his off time, but at the moment he couldn't even bring himself to crack a smile at the sheer coincidence of the matching identification numbers between the relay and his fleet. If anybody else on the bridge shared his mild amusement they didn't show it, not when their training demanded discipline and focus on the task at hand.

"Good work Lieutenant," Kravos sat back down. "We'll maintain a standard patrol course and wait for new orders. Until that point or otherwise we are to watch for any signs of travel through Relay 314. In the event of this being another pirate or smuggler group we will deal with it appropriately and contain any fallout from this incident. However in the rare chance that this is a first contact scenario we will abide by first contact protocols, which means that I had better not see any weapons firing unless I give the order or somebody else is firing at us."

There was a stereotype throughout the galaxy that the Turian Hierarchy was the sort to shoot first and ask questions later, regardless of what the circumstances might be...and unfortunately it was proven right time and time again. Kravos had known Captains to do exactly that very thing, especially when it came to activating relays. Captains wouldn't spare any effort to force the offenders to stand down or even attempt to capture them alive. There had even been an incident in the previous decades of Captains believing they had stumbled upon a new species and immediately moved to acquire a new client race only to discover they'd found some hidden smuggler or pirate harbour-much to the embarrassment of the Primarch at the time once it reached the news.

This time was different, and Kravos had been selected mainly because he had a sense of self restraint. Neither he nor the Council wanted for some unknowing species' first contact with interstellar civilization to consist of a gun fight, possibly followed by a war. New additions to the galactic community meant new opportunities, new economic ties and resources, and best of all new ideas that could shape the future of the galaxy.

Many who were privy to this event believed that this was simply another effort by a Terminus group to set up shop in uncharted space, others thought it was some new race who had to be taught the hard way that they couldn't go around opening relays, but thankfully cooler heads had prevailed and insisted on sending somebody with the proper military experience and record of diplomacy. Even if it turned out to be far less climactic than a new species stumbling into the known galaxy Kravos would still have another well executed pirate or smuggler suppression to add to his record. And if it was just another two bit smuggling ring in action the Hierarchy at least wanted some members alive to interrogate., aorpses are never really talkative and anybody dumb enough to activate a relay on behalf of some client was usually somehow smart enough to wipe their computers of any evidence implicating this client.

"Ladies, gentlemen," Kravos stood up again after receiving a report from the other Captains in his fleet. "I will be in my quarters if needed. Maintain standard operations. Lieutenant Hen'ar, you have the bridge." He addressed the sensor officer, who saluted as the Captain departed.

Taking his place in the Captain's chair, Hen'ar was expecting to spend a few hours bored out of her mind before being relieved so she could go join her colleagues down on the training deck.

She would be correct in this assumption.

What Hen'ar was mistaken about would be that this peaceful boredom would last until the Council sent them further orders.

The peace didn't last for another two days.

Xxx

 **March 10** **th** **, 2353**

 **ASV (Alliance Space Vessel)** _ **Fawkes**_

 _ **On route to Hub System dubbed 'Tartarus'**_

" _Exiting Relay Transition in three...two...one."_

The _Fawkes_ appeared out of Relay 314 without a sound, followed closely by two more Wanderer Class Frigates and then two civilian research vessels.

The Wanderer frigates were blocky in design, made to be practical rather than look pretty. Their designs were vaguely derived from military ships that had been used for ocean warfare before the Great War: the bridge was set further towards the middle and a little higher than the rest of the ship, but was kept out of sight beneath several layers of armour and relied on cameras built into the hull or other peripheral sources for navigation and combat-though it was hard to remember this when the bridge was designed to make it seem like one was staring through a glass pane covering the whole front of the room. A single plasma cannon was nestled at the front of the ship's bow, and laser turrets dotted the top and sides while torpedo racks were hidden in armored compartments on the bottom.

On the bridge of the _Fawkes,_ the twelve inch tall image of a Ghoul composed of a blue tinted hologram appeared on the arm rest of the vessel's Captain: Owen Mason, second born of the Lone Wanderer himself.

Unlike his older brother Alex he had not elected to join the Brotherhood of Steel, remaining a part of the traditional Alliance Navy. Despite being fifty years old in two months Owen had the appearance of a man almost twenty years younger, all thanks going to the wonders of medical science advancing more smoothly with help from the Prolat Scientists on Mars. He shared the appearance of his father and grandfather, and even had the latter's greying hair and voice and the former's intimidating disposition and piercing stare. Clad in the standard dark blue Alliance Navy uniform that had to be tailored to fit his large frame, Owen Mason was practically the poster boy for the ideal Alliance Commander.

" _Relay Transition Successful. Sensors shall be online in seven minutes."_ The Class 2 Combat AI known as Grump grumbled...and yes, he always grumbled, so expect to hear those two words together more often.

"Make it six if you can," Owen replied, leaning back in his chair. "I don't like flying blind. Get me some visual surveillance all around and deploy the Gutsy Drones to be our eyes out far."

" _Done and done._ "

Owen hated relay travel for one particular reason: it fucked with the sensors of smaller Alliance vessels like the _Fawkes_. At first it would cause electrical surges and even once crippled most of a Wanderer class frigate before adjustments were made to the design of the entire fleet back in the days when the Alliance was confined to just Sol. It had something to do with an electrical discharge created by the Relays when they launched ships through the mass free 'corridors' to the target relay. It was like an electromagnetic pulse with such power that Alliance vessels simply hadn't been designed to handle except for the Zeta ships.

It was just one thing about Relays that frustrated him, to be honest. Owen had an entire list of reasons why he thought the Alliance would be better off scrapping these things...if they knew how to. The fucking things were next to indestructible against conventional weapons, and some egg heads had a theory about a Relay being destroyed leading to an entire solar system being wiped out by some chain reaction.

So the Alliance was stuck with the giant space forks and made use of them despite Prolat FTL allowing for travel between the colonies. Sure, conventional FTL engines took hours to travel between neighbouring stars and almost two weeks to cross from one side of Alliance territory to the other but it was better than having a much too convenient network of relays that didn't discriminate in who they transported hundreds of light years in the blink of an eye.

Back to the topic though: the Alliance's smaller vessels still experienced minor system errors after going through mass relays, and unfortunately that usually included the sensors. His fleet had passed through three of the oversized forks for this expedition, and if nothing went wrong they would have to go through several more, stopping every time to let their systems reboot and survey the system for several days, marking colonisable planets and areas with vital resources to harvest.

" _Hey, boss!"_ Grump spoke up after barely two minutes. _"One of the drones just spotted something."_

"Can you bring me a visual?" Owen inquired, tensing in his seat along with the rest of his bridge crew.

" _Nothing that you'd be able to notice with your limited vision, I only had a brief glance before whatever it was flew off, and I only saw it because whatever it was altered course and hightailed it away. I think it saw us at the same time we saw it."_

Owen came to a decision immediately, "That cuts it then, I'm not taking any chances. Raise fleet status to yellow alert." He sat back in his chair as view ports across every ship in the fleet was covered by a protective layer of armour and crew rushed to man gun controls.

Xxx

 **Turian Cruiser** _ **Valor**_

"We have a confirmed arrival at 314!"

"Flotilla reforming into battle formation and standing by for orders!"

Kravos had been in the middle of his designated sleep cycle at the time, and didn't arrive on the bridge until three minutes later (which he mentally kicked himself for). "Status report, now!" He barked, vaulting into his chair before it was raised into the air and moved to the back of the bridge where he could see his subordinates spread out before him.

"Sir, five vessels have appeared out of Relay 314 and deployed a series of unmanned devices," Hen'ra reported from her console. "I believe they are reconnaissance drones, and they spotted one of our own sentries-," She stopped in mid sentence. "Captain, Commander Onkari is moving his battle group towards the relay instead of returning to our position."

"What? Damn him, is he planning to start shooting?" Kravos muttered.

"I'm receiving a message, sir." The Communication Officer announced. "Message begins: Intend to initiate contact as soon as possible to avoid risk of unknowns departing or activating other relays. Will hold fire unless given proper reason. Initiating communications blackout to hide location of fleet. Message ends."

Kravos exhaled in relief. Onkari wouldn't have sent that message unless he intended to follow through on his promise; it would only be evidence to be used against him at a tribunal if he turned this into a battle without good reason. "At least he's using his head. Monitor the _Seeker_ battle group and continue reforming the rest of the fleet. We can move in to help if required."

Xxx

 **ASV** _ **Fawkes**_

"There they are!" Owen rose from his seat as images were streamed from several of the drones, showing an approaching group of vessels. One of them was about the size of a Paladin class cruiser while the other six were close to the size of the Wanderer class frigates. "So you really did see something."

"I'm seeing signs of weapons, especially on the big one." The Tactical officer stated. "No sign of any barriers though."

" _Want me to have a shot at hacking their systems?_ " Grump asked.

Owen shook his head. "No, not yet. This might be a nightmare made real for me but we're following first contact protocol, and supposing we live through this I'm going to drink myself to sleep tonight. Hold position, monitor the enemy fleet and-"

Suddenly the _Fawkes_ violently shook as alarms began to ring. "Did they just fire on us?!"

Xxx

 **Several moments beforehand**

 **Turian Cruiser** _ **Valor**_

"Visual uplink established," Hen'ra announced, keeping her voice soft, "The drones are transmitting."

A red tinted hologram appeared in the shape of a sphere in front of Kravos' ascended seat. Within it was a representation of the area surrounding the unknown vessels and Commander Onkari's group, represented by green and blue figures specifically.

Kravos leaned forward and addressed Hen'ra. "Magnify on unknowns, compare to known vessel military designs." The sphere shrunk down, the blue Turian vessels vanishing to leave the green three dimensional outlines of the five unknown ships, two of which were larger and rounded while the other three were smaller and blockier.

"Running database comparison," The tactical officer scanned the contents of his holo-screen, "No conclusive match with any military vessel designs, sir. Features are not reminiscent of Batarian design."

By that he meant they weren't floating junkers.

"Expand comparison to include civilian corporations," Kravos instructed, rubbing his lower mandibles as he stared at the images. "Also expand to cover paramilitary groups."

"No conclusive match," The tactical officer shook his head and turned in his seat, "These ships are designed in a way that I can't match to any known race. But I am reading minimal amounts of element zero and mass effect fields. It isn't even the amount used by a frigate sir, but it's there."

Kravos hopped down from his seat and looked over the tactical offiver's shoulder, one hand set on the back of the younger Turian's chair as he examined the readouts for himself. "We might just have something new on our hands...you're fully certain that these ships do not match the profiles of any known vessel in Citadel or Terminus space?"

"Affirmative sir. If this was made by any group on record they've somehow kept it out of sight of even the STG." The Salarian STG made sure to keep on top of all new military developments, be it a new form of infantry weapon or class of warship-and made sure to sabotage or hijack it if it was deemed too dangerous. While the organization had a history of dishonesty it still shared its findings in this area with the Hierarchy so the Turians could make an informed decision.

For Kravos this could be the moment that defined his future career. First contact with a new species was always treated very seriously, most especially in how it was conducted by the party representing the Council, and if this was handled correctly he could find his military career ending at a rank far higher than that of a Captain. While not a greedy man, he was ambitious like many other Turians...thankfully that ambition did not lead him to take extreme action. He would proceed cautiously and first verify the validity of this 'new species' and then stick to First Contact Protocol; after that, and assuming that this was really happening, it would be up to the politicians back on the Citadel to handle the long and tedious work of establishing full contact. All he was expected to do was launch a First Contact Package.

Suddenly the relay, highlighted in bright blue behind the unknown fleet, began to flare brightly to indicate an activation.

"Sir, three new contacts have just appeared through the relay, two matching the profile of the smaller unknown ships but another is cruiser sized!" The tactical officer had the image zoom in on the larger contact. "Receiving an alert from the _Seeker_ battle group. They've been fired on!"

Xxx

 **ASV** _ **Fawkes**_

"Did they just fire on us?!" Owen Mason demanded.

"Negative sir! It came from the Relay." The Tactical Officer answered before accessing one of the drones, showing footage on a side screen of three new ships popping out of the relay that the _Fawkes_ and her fleet had come from minutes ago. One was a full sized Paladin cruiser that had been heavily modified, flanked by two Wanderer class frigates; each ship had any markings of the Alliance removed in place of an E surrounded by a circle of stars.

E for Enclave, but the actual Enclave used the Alliance symbol on its ships and facilities.

This could mean only one thing.

"Manifest!" Owen looked to Grump. "Get our shields up and raise fleet status to red alert!"

" _Done and done, but we took one right to our hangar. All our shuttles are gone and we lost two hands. The cherry on top of this crisis is that our sensors still won't be up for another minute, so we won't even have a good firing solution unless anybody here besides me can run the numbers in their head._ " The AI briefly glitched, " _And Manifest also fired on the alien fleet._ "

The hijacked Paladin cruiser's plasma cannons had already blasted one of the smaller alien vessels in half. The other five and their larger counterpart broke formation and began to accelerate.

Xxx

 **Turian Cruiser** _ **Valor**_

"Captain, Commander Onkari is sounding an alert. He has lost a single frigate in the opening salvo and is requesting support!"

This was the exact scenario that Kravos had been trying to avoid. In an instant a day dream of being praised for calmly and rationally handling this delicate situation turned into a nightmarish reality as his subordinate's words hit home.

"Spirits," Kravos cursed, returning to his seat, "All vessels prepare to enter FTL, raise alert status and prepare for battle. We're executing a short range tactical jump."

On the far side of the system, the Manifest fleet that had been sent in pursuit of the Alliance exploration fleet had been surprised and horrified to see the alien vessels. Acting on their first instinct, they opened fire and began to divide their attention between their intended Alliance prey and their new targets. As far as Manifest was concerned all aliens and anything not strictly human deserved one thing: the business end of a plasma cannon.

The Turian vessels had reacted quickly to the destruction of one of their own. The _Seeker_ had been the first to fire, its Mass Accelerator propelling small projectile at a fraction of the speed of light and hitting its target with enough kinetic energy to level part of a city.

The shields on one of the two hijacked Wanderer frigates flared dangerously. The two smaller vessels were relying on targeting data transferred from their larger counterpart, and had been focusing their attention on the Alliance civilian vessels-one of which was crumbling to pieces already and the other was badly damaged by the opening salvo. This fixation cost the usually agile frigates when a second shot from the _Seeker_ completely gutted its target, tearing through metal and exposing most of the ship to vacuum.

The Paladin cruiser immediately responded with another barrage of plasma from its main guns. The green globule of energy slammed into the bow shielding of the Turian cruiser.

While Kinetic barriers could not deflect energy weaponry, the magnetic field surrounding the plasma dissipated against the barrier and left what amounted to a cloud of super heated plasma that washed over the hull of the Turian vessel. This still caused noticeable damage to the outer hull, which was made of ablative armour designed to boil away and negate the full effect of a DEW, but the _Seeker_ was still operational and able to return fire while its five remaining frigate escorts swarmed over the Paladin. Laser fire flashed between the larger vessel and the wolf pack, with one unlucky frigate having a hole blown in its side and spinning away slowly while the other four managed to get around behind the Paladin and begin to unleash a payload of disruptor torpedoes at knife fighting range.

The torpedoes were cold launched, only activating their thrusters once the frigates had finished peeling off in time to escape the devastating effect as the projectiles detonated against the aft shielding of the cruiser and unleashed randomized and unstable mass effect fields that bent space-time, ripping apart hull armour and damaging critical systems beneath. This barrage left the Paladin cruiser venting oxygen rapidly from several aft compartments, its design having never been tailored for minimizing the destructive effect of the torpedoes the way Turian ships were.

While the Turian fleet took on the Paladin cruiser the three Alliance frigates attempted to protect the remaining science vessel. The Manifest controlled frigate, which was now relying on a hastily deployed swarm of drones for targeting data was almost zealously attempting to destroy the civilian ship, remaining close enough to it that the Alliance escorts could not simply destroy it without risking critical damage to their charge. They attempted to blast away at its engines with laser strikes or even manoeuvre between it and the research ship.

Suddenly the rest of the Turian fleet jumped into the vicinity, seeming to pop into view and loom over the smaller craft like Goliath overshadowing David. Two cruisers the same size as the _Seeker_ accompanied by a swarm of twelve frigates charged in, Mass Accelerators firing on the human vessels.

Unfortunately Kravos was unaware that only two of the remaining ships were hostile, and as a result one of the Alliance frigates was blown apart in the first thirty seconds of the engagement, taking a torpedo to its engines after its barrier fell and suffering a series of explosions as the mass effect fields triggered a chain reaction. The Manifest frigate was swarmed by four of the Turian frigates and was soon torn open by a blue laser beam to its belly from a passing Turian frigate while the remaining Alliance ships tried to fight off their own pursuers while fleeing towards the relay.

Xxx

 **ASV** _ **Fawkes**_

"Retreat to the relay!" Owen coughed as he batted aside some smoke that was beginning to fill the bridge. "Cover the civilians, they're safety is our priority!"

" _The Neo-Enclaves are keeping them occupied."_ Grump informed Owen as the Manifest Cruiser blasted a hole clean into the bow of the first alien cruiser while the other two moved to assist their sister ship. _"Let's make this fast before these aliens finish with them and turn on us next."_

The _Fawkes_ and the other two remaining Alliance vessels fled towards the relay at best speed, laser turrets fending off strafes from the alien frigates. As they closed in on the relay however the other remaining Alliance frigate, the _Apollo_ , lost its shields and was quickly overrun by two of the alien frigates. Its hull rippled with explosions as the wrecked ship began to drift aimlessly, every light aboard dying and crewmen being torn out into the vacuum.

"Relay transition in fifteen seconds!" The Helmsman shouted over the alarms while crew members rushed to put out fires around the bridge.

"Shields at twenty percent and dropping!"

"Come on now, just another few seconds." Owen whispered, speaking to his ship as much as to his crew. "Just hold it together for a few more seconds!"

Fortunately the alien frigates seemed to veer off and were rushing to assist the three larger cruisers, the first of which now had considerable damage thanks to a barrage of plasma and anti-ship lasers, a second one had lost its main cannon while the third had a wing sliced off by a precision shot from one of the anti-ship laser cannons on the Paladin.

The _Fawkes_ and its charge finally reached the relay and vanished, being ferried back towards human space.

Meanwhile the Turian vessels managed to finish off the cruiser after losing another frigate. One final shot from the _Valor_ tore through the side of the cruiser and cut it clean in half near the middle, finally ending the battle.

"Sir, two of the smaller ships managed to escape through the relay." Hen'ar glanced up. "And...the _Seeker_ has taken heavy structural damage...she's broken sir, and Commander Onkari was killed by an explosion on the bridge along with the rest of his command crew."

Kravos clenched the arm of his chair tightly. "This attack...will not go unpunished." He growled. "Three frigates and one cruiser...hundreds of brave soldiers...oh this certainly won't go unpunished." The Captain stood up. "Establish contact with the Citadel and inform them of what has happened...and send a request for reinforcements from the Hierarchy immediately. These aliens opened fire on our comrades without provocation and will be made to pay for the blood spilt here today!"

Many who knew the Turian often considered Kravos to be of sounder mind than most others despite his flaws, and he was inclined to agree after talking sense into many colleagues...but after seeing the merciless and unwarranted slaughter of soldiers under his command the only thing he could think of was making those responsible pay.

Xxx

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Acessing file...**

 **Opened file: SHANXI**

 **The Alliance of Nations' fifth colony, Shanxi is primarily an agricultural colony designed for shipping supplies to Terra Nova. It also serves as the next 'stepping stone' system from which further exploration of the relay network and the galaxy at large is meant to resume for the first time in several months (view file: EXPANSION). Shanxi possesses a population of approximately 250 000, primarily humans with elements of Ghouls and Meta Humans. The Brotherhood of Steel has established a presence on Shanxi, as it does for all colony worlds to ensure it is able to respond to any crisis across Alliance space.**

 **Life on Shanxi is considered to be dull compared to the constant challenge represented by Earth, but it is also seen as a Garden of Eden where its people are able to flourish without threat of slavers, bandits and mutants. In its short existence Shanxi has started a sports league for youths focusing on base ball. While officially the colony is affiliated with the New Chinese Empire, its inhabitants speak a mix of mandarin Chinese and English (mainly English) and most citizens are of European and North American descent.**

 **File closed**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **Accessing file...**

 **Opened file: EXPANSION**

 **In Janury of 2352 the Alliance Parliament chose to temporarily shelf all further relay exploration plans in favor of focusing on development and population settlement of current colonies and exploring systems in close proximity lacking relays, aiming to take stock of its current resources and ensure all colony worlds would be self sufficient before authorizing the deployment of the ASV** _ **Fawkes, Apollo**_ **and** _ **Canaan**_ **along with two civilian research vessels, the** _ **Fire Ant**_ **and** _ **Columbus**_ **to scout out six new relay systems as an opening step for continued expansion.**

 **The initial decision to delay relay exploration was encouraged by High Inquisitor Jason Maxson, who insisted that rather than stumbling out blindly into the galaxy the Alliance should take care to ensure that its worlds would be protected and provided for in the event of a Manifest attack or any other potential crises. It was also at his insistence a year later that the exploration fleet be dispatched with the goal of discovering new systems and spending several days at each stop for the purpose of analyzing planets and asteroid belts for resources. The intended goal was to travel only through seven relays, spending a maximum of fourteen days out in unknown territory before returning to Shanxi.**

 **It was this two day delay that led to first contact between the Alliance of Nations and the Turian Hierarchy. (see file: FIRST CONTACT WAR)**

 **File closed**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **Accessing file...**

 **Opened file: FIRST CONTACT WAR**

 **If there is one thing that all sides can agree on: the presence of Manifest is solely to blame for what occurred following the initial skirmish in the Tartarus System between elements of the Turian 3** **rd** **Fleet and the Alliance Exploration Fleet...**

End of Chapter


	3. Chapter 2: The Coming Storm

Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

And a big thanks to reviewers who have critiqued previous chapters. You've done so in a respectful and constructive manner, and I value your input.

Xxx

Chapter Two: The Coming Storm

 **March 11** **th** **, 2353**

 **Shanxi System**

 **BSF (Brotherhood Star Fortress)** _ **Chairman Benny**_

The colony of Shanxi was primarily a garden world, but as a secondary function it served as a colonial outpost for the Brotherhood of Steel. The _Chairman Benny_ was not merely a hub of travel for civilians, but also a fortress from which the Brotherhood could operate out among the colonies. It was the first of its type, but as expansion continued there were plans for placing more out among future colonies to ensure protection of Alliance citizens.

Elder Thompson had been placed in charge of the Shanxi Brotherhood upon its founding, an honor that he bore with silent dignity and refused to allow it to alter his demeanor. A ghoul who could recall the days before the war when space flight seemed like a dream, Thompson had long forgotten his first name and only knew his surname because of a name tag that had remained attached to a work vest that he suspected had been part of a uniform for RobCo. After the alliance of New Washington and the Mojave Alliance Ghouls had become legible to join the Brotherhood thanks to the change in tradition brought about by Logan Mason and supported by Arthur Maxson. Thompson had risen through the ranks since that time and had proven himself a competent soldier and a reasonable leader; while by no means considered an impressive or outstanding individual he had enough merit to be granted the leadership of a minor brotherhood chapter that would require little of him.

That would change after today, as of the moment when the alarms in the _Chairman Benny's_ command center went off, alerting Thomspon and his crew to the unscheduled return of two of the five deployed ships.

"They weren't gone for even a week." Thompson stared at the sensor screen. "Establish contact and keep watch for the rest of the exploration fleet."

"Elder Thompson, I'm reading reports of damage along the hulls of both craft!" One of the Brotherhood Scribes called out. "Captain Owen Mason has just sent his Command Code, it's authentic and he's declaring a state of emergency. Desert Ranger Protocol is to be enacted!"

Thompson bit back a curse at this statement. To declare Desert Ranger Protocol was as good as saying that barbarians were at the gates. There had never been cause for it before, but the only enemies to fear had been the woefully underequipped Manifest.

What did they run into out in the wild and unexplored star systems?

"Bring those ships aboard and put out an alert to all nearby systems." Thompson ordered. "Contact the Sol Chapter and bring back our patrol ships immediately. Send another message to the Terra Nova Chapter, they're much closer and have more ships to spare. And somebody get me Colonel Williams on the line and have him put the colony on high alert!"

Xxx

Thompson made it to the dry dock level when the _Fawkes_ and the single remaining civilian vessel pulled in and were caught by gravity tethers.

"It looks like they took a hell of a beating," One of the dock workers muttered as the massive metal doors of the _Chairman Benny_ closed behind the two vessels, sealing them within the safety of the massive space fortress and allowing for a boarding tube to be deployed. "What could have hit them out there? Manifest?"

Manifest had managed to hijack several vessels right out of the very shipyards over the past few years, and somehow had managed to make their own at a hidden location, perhaps in dark space or some unexplored system. But much of the damage on the two ships was not reminiscent of laser or plasma damage. It looked more like something had torn holes right through them.

As soon as the docking tubes were deployed a team of medics in quarantine suits were sent aboard to verify that there wasn't any viral infections brought back-better to be safe than sorry. Once the ships were cleared the surviving crew and passengers were brought off: eleven from the _Fawkes_ and nineteen out of nearly forty from the civilian vessel.

A mere total of thirty out of nearly a hundred and sixty men and women had come home from unknown territory.

"Captain Mason!" Thompson called out upon seeing the second son of the legend himself.

Owen looked exhausted, shaken and even disheveled, but he was not as bad off as most of the survivors. He even managed to salute and stop shivering once he'd reached Thompson. "Elder Thompson, I have tactical data that you may wish to view concerning the attack on my fleet." His words may have been delivered calmly, but Thompson could see that the man was still shaken by the events behind the damage to his ship.

"It can wait until after you tell me exactly what hit you first." Thompson insisted. "We can discuss this in private while your crew undergoes medical treatment. Desert Ranger Protocol is enacted, we're calling back our patrol groups and preparing Shanxi for a fight, so we have to make this quick if we want to know just what kind of fight we're preparing for."

Xxx

Minutes later Owen was seated in a conference room. He had been given a medical evaluation and cleared for the debriefing, and now was calmly sipping from a mug of coffee.

Elder Thompson sat across from him while the leading members of the Shanxi Colonial Defence and Administration Board sat around them, either physically present or projected as holograms from the surface of the planet.

The first among these individuals was Colonel Williams, the commanding officer of the Alliance Garrison. He was a dark haired man and was already clad in his Alliance issue battle armour, a combination of conventional power armour with implemented Kinetic Barriers and a series of other additions that had been introduced to regular infantry ever since the Alliance had taken to the stars.

Next was the commander of the patrol fleets: Captain Deathstalker, one of the intelligent Death Claws who had been allowed citizenship in the Alliance. Like the rest of his kind he was big, scary and could rip the head off of a Super Mutant. Rather than wearing traditional Alliance uniforms Death Claws were permitted to wear clothing and armour specially tailored to their intimidating physique and even made them look scarier to be honest.

The third and final member of the Board was a Ghoul by the name of Jason Bright. Nearly a century ago he had led the Bright Brotherhood away from Earth in what was unofficially mankind's first exodus to the stars. As it turned out the supposedly simple rockets that he and his brethren had used to undergo their journey had been RobCo's first attempt at long distance space travel and had allowed them to fly all the way to Mars where they had crash landed on the far side of the planet from the Prolat settlement. After his flock was discovered and integrated into the Alliance Jason had decided to take his brotherhood further out, eventually becoming the Colonial Administrator of Shanxi.

"You may begin when you are ready, Captain Mason." Deathstalker growled, seating himself and making sure his tail was not in danger of accidentally hitting either person sitting next to him-even a casual flick could inflict a concussion to an unprotected skull.

Owen nodded. "Things were normal for about all of five minutes after we cleared the latest relay, only three jumps out and on schedule. We deployed our drones and waited for sensors to come back online, but then one drone spotted something further out from the relay. I had the fleet move to yellow alert before a group of seven unknown ships began to approach us."

"Were they Manifest vessels?" Williams asked.

"Negative, they were definitely not of a human design. They utilized some manner of laser technology, but the tactical data will show that their primary weapons were a form of spinal mounted gun which fired projectiles that could tear through our barriers in one or two shots. But they didn't open fire until the Manifest fleet followed us through and started shooting."

"Manifest got ships through to the expedition route? How the hell did they slip past us?!" Deathstalker growled. "I had a patrol group watching the relay at all times and this is the only one that leads out there!"

"It doesn't matter how, only that their trigger happy nature caused the aliens to then return fire...and they didn't distinguish between us or them. They probably thought we were part of the same fleet and didn't notice us shooting at one another among the chaos...or maybe they didn't care." Owen shook his head. "Maybe the aliens would have shot at us anyways, or maybe they were just trying to initiate contact. Maybe they were as bad as the Prolat Military, or maybe they just saw us and got curious; hell if I know or even care...all I know is that they saw us as enemies and blew apart two of my ships before we got away."

Jason shut his eyes, issuing a silent prayer for those lost...and for the safety of those who were now at risk. "So this means that there is yet another people from another world who would wage war against us."

This fact sank in for several moments as silence washed over the five individuals who now had the responsibility of defending an entire planet from an unknown and hostile alien race.

"All those years spent practicing for this scenario and it still just leaves us off guard when it finally happens." Williams groaned as his projected image showed him rubbing his brow. "We've got maybe a dozen ships that can be here within the next day, thirteen if one of the Mother Ships can be sent out our way. I've got about fifty thousand men and women groundside and barely ten percent of them are real soldiers with armour and military grade weapons. Then we have a couple thousand of your Brotherhood Knights and Paladins who I can have relocated into the city pretty quick but I don't see what good it'll do if we get a whole fleet on our door step."

"I've already arranged for a message to be sent back to the home system. It will have arrived by now, and they can have an entire fleet here within three days." Thompson assured the group. "Right now we need to focus on preparing Shanxi for a possible alien incursion. To start with, all vessels are to purge their navigational data banks of the locations of Garden class worlds and the home system. Civilians are to be relocated to the vaults and provided adequate arms and supplies to sustain them, and all reserve military assets are to be activated."

"I can get the anti air defences online," Williams answered. "We also have the orbital deterrence arsenal up here, and we can try testing out the Shell."

While a small colony by Alliance standards, Shanxi had been provided the usual amount of military protection that was required as a minimum for every Alliance world. This included vaults capable of holding the population (which was thankfully just under a quarter million), flak and energy cannons designed for repelling landing attempts, and most of all the Shell: a new type of kinetic barrier system that had been improved upon by Zeta scientists to provide protection from an orbital bombing.

It had worked to protect Terra Nova from a bombing run by Manifest, and scientists estimated that nothing short of continuous bombardment or a meteor could shatter the Shell once it was activated. The only problem was that the Shell had only been used in that one instance, and it had been to just protect a single city from several bombers for a span of an hour before Alliance fighters had finally arrived and wiped out the attackers. Nobody wanted to test it limits by breaking it out right in the middle of an invasion.

"We'll have to make do with what we have," Jason Bright said as he rose to his feet. "I shall gather the people and herd them to the vaults in a calm and orderly manner. Perhaps I could make them believe that it is another attempt by Manifest to attack us so that they will not panic."

"That might just work," Thompson agreed. "People here are used to threats from Manifest; some of them were on other colonies threatened or even attacked by those fascists. We can just explain that a Manifest fleet has recently been spotted heading towards this system and that we are taking precautions in case it is another terrorist attack."

"That'll help me keep the garrison calm enough to get the defences online," Williams added. "We can have the capital ready to fight off a whole army, and as long as the groundside generators aren't hit we can keep the Shell up for years and power the defence grid."

"The enemy may be aware of the single flaw in the Shell in that case," Thompson replied while looking over a data pad listing details on the alien craft. "They use Prothean technology like we do, probably more than we do, and the Shell is derived directly from the same thing minus a few alterations."

He was referring to the Shell's one weakness: it worked by picking up on incoming masses moving above a certain velocity, and if the enemy chose to launch a ground invasion instead of just bombing the city from orbit the Shell would be entirely useless to the defence effort.

"My men are ready for that scenario." Williams stated firmly.

"And my fleet shall be ready to protect this station," Deathstalker added. "But if I may remind everyone: this is all purely precautionary. These aliens have not attacked yet, and if they are reasonable and intelligent or at least can think and act rationally like we can then they could realize after reviewing the battle that we may not entirely be at fault. It might provide us a slim opportunity to establish a non violent contact at best."

Thompson knew long ago that the day Death Claws spouted words about reasoning and peace the world would go to shit, and this was just proof in his eyes. "Perhaps, but while we hope for the best we shall prepare for the worst and mobilize every military asset we have available until the Alliance can dispatch a fleet. You all have your orders, so follow through with them and make sure we're ready if these unknowns come through the relay with guns blazing."

As the men departed from the conference room, Owen finally spoke up again. "The worst part of that happening is that we wouldn't have much reason to blame them if they did. Fucking trigger happy Manifest probably just declared war in our name."

Xxx

 **March 11** **th** **, 2353**

 **Hub System Tartarus**

 **Turian Cruiser** _ **Valor**_

Ever since the brief engagement, which had been named 'The Relay 314 Incident' in reports the Turian Hierarchy had been quick to react to what had just presented itself as a hostile new species. Within hours several Turian flotillas had arrived from nearby systems and arranged themselves to keep an eye on the relay. If anything popped out it would find itself faced by over fifteen Turian cruisers, dozens of frigates and even one of the Hierarchy's mighty Dreadnaughts.

Several ships were scavenging from the wrecked vessels of the enemy. Of the six wrecks there were four frigate sized warships, the slightly larger but unarmed craft and the cruiser sized warship that had fielded full plasma weaponry. Three of the frigates had been reduced to scrap metal by the fighting, being the victims of swarms of frigates and torpedoes tearing them apart, but the fourth frigate had been retrieved relatively intact with all hands lost. The unarmed transport had been struck by what seemed to be friendly fire, as it had numerous holes burned through it similar to the damage done to the Turian vessels of the 14th Flotilla.

The cruiser however was the biggest prize of all for one reason: one of its powerful plasma guns had been taken intact and was now sitting in the single hangar bay of the _Valor_.

"We couldn't find much of anything else intact that we can specifically identify," A technician informed Kravos, who was standing near the wreck. "The computers were easy to decrypt, but they appeared to have been wiped, and explosive charges placed throughout the ships appear to have eradicated certain important pieces of hardware. It's likely a failed form of scuttling to keep vessels out of enemy hands, and it was possibly set off by the damage your flotilla inflicted rather than by intent."

"Their folly is our gain in that case," Kravos decided. "We have samples of fully energy based weaponry taken right from their ships, intact and functioning. What little we have will be transported back to Palaven for analysis and hopefully we will have some method of defence against this new threat."

"We've also managed to deduce several things about the enemy ships from the combat footage on your ships, Captain." The technician continued as he followed Kravos to the central elevator that lead up to the primary operations section of the cruiser. "The kinetic barriers and manoeuvring capacity on their smaller ships are actually not very impressive compared to their weaponry, if I had to guess their understanding of Prothean technology is relatively minimal. The substandard quality of what little Mass Effect based technology and computer software on their vessels indicates that these aliens may have only recently come by the technology."

"So they have stronger weapons, but we possess stronger shielding." Kravos summarized.

"Yes, but their cruiser was obviously able to stand up to at least one of our own cruisers, even if it was in a surprise attack." The technician nodded as the elevator, which seemed to take forever to get up even a single floor, finally stopped and let them out. "Between their possessing energy weapons of greater power than our mass accelerators and shielding adequate enough to protect them from at least an opening salvo..." Kravros saw the technician shudder, "If these aliens had been more organized in their attack or possessed greater numbers they may have been able to defeat your flotilla."

Kravos grunted, not appreciating the idea that such violent primitives might have prevailed. "We'll see about that, once I chase them back to their home and smash the rest of their fleet."

They walked towards the infirmary, which was where the retrieved bodies of the alien crews had been sent. Kravos nodded to the technician without stopping. "You stand relieved for now, soldier, take a break and then report to the Cruiser _Paradox_ to return to Palaven where you will have the honour of providing all relevant tactical data compiled since the incident to R &D for further examination and reverse engineering."

"Understood Captain," The technician nodded and turned, heading back the way he had come from while Kravos entered the infirmary where bodies of the alien crew had been placed in pods to preserve them for study.

Now that he had a good look at them, Kravos was torn between fascination and repulsion. Rather than a single species the Turian could count as many as three or four out of the dozens of retrieved bodies.

Some appeared to be like Asari with hair, and obvious differences in physiology indicated different genders resulting in what was basically a _male Asari_.

Others were bigger than Krogan and had warped features possessing different colours and abnormal shapes.

Another species looked more reptilian, with horns and claws that made a Turian look feeble in comparison.

And the final species looked like the first, Asari like, but they appeared as though they had been rotting for weeks rather than being dead for little over a single day. To put it simply: they looked like corpses that had been given years to begin the process of necrosis, but had somehow held together even in the vacuum of space.

"By the spirits...what am I looking at?" Kravos asked as he examined the specimens one by one. "What a collection of mismatched species." He knew that it might sound hypocritical, given that the Council races came in all shapes and sizes, but these four looked absolutely ridiculous when clumped together and in matching uniforms.

"The larger cruiser and two of the frigates only contained members of this species, sir." The Chief Medical Officer lead Kravos over to a row of the smooth skinned Asari look alike. "I've classified them as Specimen 314-1 for convenience's sake. The larger ones are 314-2, the reptilians 314-3 and the...other set of specimens are 314-4 until proper designations can be appointed."

"Tell me what you know of them so far." Kravos requested, regaining his composure.

"I can only deduce three things after my preliminary analysis of the bodies, Captain." The CMO replied. "Firstly...species 1, 2 and 4 share certain genetic traits while species 2, 3 and 4 all share signs of extreme genetic alteration with lesser evidence of this in species 1. I'm basing this off several dozen comparisons I've run between them all."

"Are you telling me that we have encountered some collective of...mutations?" Kravos could barely believe he was hearing this.

"Yes sir. Species 4 differs from 2 and 3 in certain ways that I can't even begin to explain." The CMO gestured to the specimens in order. "Whereas species 2 and 3 appear to be the result of intentional alteration that carries a sort of pattern which can be seen among them, species 4 just...just shouldn't ever have been alive at all from what I can see."

Taking note of his Captain's confusion, the CMO struggled to explain himself. "Their bodies are simply chockfull of radiation, and their bodies are in what should be a stage of necrosis, yet somehow these beings were alive and walking about just as you and I are now until only recently. It's why I've had every specimen contained in pods and issued orders for all medical personnel to be wearing protective gear when handling the bodies, just to be safe. In fact all of these specimens appear to have been affected by radiation to some degree and over a long period of time. If I had to make a comparison, sir, I would attribute this radiation to a nuclear device, or at least the fallout from one."

Whatever this motley assortment of races were, they had been exposed to levels of radiation that could even make Turians uncomfortable, and in some cases even be considered lethal. What confused him more was how these different sub species managed to coexist aboard what were obviously military vessels.

"Species 1 appears to be the most common form of subspecies among this race, Captain. They appeared to fully crew the enemy flagship and were found most often on the rest of the enemy vessels retrieved." The CMO showed him the Turian equivalent of what humans would know as a bar chart he had made to account for every retrieved body. "If we are to assume that all four categories represent an alliance of sorts similar to the Citadel races then this may just be their dominant species, their counterpart for our people."

"Are there any other unwelcome surprises I should be aware of, doctor?" Kravos sighed, leaning back against a work desk. "Will you tell me that they have AIs and Rachnii next? Do continue, I need a justification to start drinking."

"I'm glad to say that the situation does not yet seem that dire," The CMO shook his head. "Although many of the specimens had implants within their bodies...rather effective implants I might add."

He gestured for Kravos to follow him over to one of the Species 1 pods. "This one here: Specimen 314-1-176. He has an optical implant that enhanced his vision to a point where this man must have been an ace marksman, or at least possessed immense hand-eye coordination, or even both."

He moved on to another pod. "314-3-008," He patted the pod of one of the reptilian aliens. "This had a fully synthetic brain and spinal cord that I haven't even managed to view in depth yet. The most notable augmentation I have discovered however is right here."

The CMO directed Kravos to another member of Species 1, a female by the look of her. "She has a sub dermal implant in the form of armour somehow grafted directly beneath her epidermis. It is similar to the skin weave augmentation available, but more...thorough, with a higher damage threshold based on the tests I've run."

"She has body armour...under her skin?" Kravos asked skeptically before being shown a full body scan taken earlier. "What sort of people would butcher themselves with such frequency? These implants look like they could easily be replicated in a less extreme fashion."

The Turians had implants and prosthetic limbs for soldiers, mainly those wounded in battle, and there were organizations that partook in genetic therapy to assist in overcoming genetic disorders-the Council was fine with it as long as there weren't any serious alterations to an otherwise normal physiology. But these aliens appeared to be physically fine before their deaths, and with the limited time that the _Valor's_ crew had been able to analyze the bodies and technology taken from the enemy fleet they could only confirm that many of these beings had a different assortment of implants, mutations and oddities about them that were ridiculously diverse.

None of these implants appeared to be standard issue, as they were spread almost randomly throughout the ranks of the enemy crew. The aliens taken off of the flagship and some of the smaller ships had almost no mutations within them whatsoever and had very few implants, but the bodies retrieved from several others were the ones that shocked and intrigued Kravos. It was like the vessels had been jammed full with a random assortment of individuals or crewed entirely by one species in different areas, and this lack of organization served to frustrate the already irritable Captain.

"Have these bodies transferred and scheduled for shipment back to the home system," Kravos decided. "Mark them for quarantine and leave proper safety instructions for safe handling and opening these pods. I will see to it that they are shipped directly to an off world research facility, just to be safe."

"By your command, Captain," The CMO saluted and rushed off to execute the orders given to him.

Kravos' next destination was the bridge, which was a Varren hive of activity just like the rest of the glowing fleet. His crew had been lucky enough not to sustain casualties or even any injuries in the earlier encounter, but around a half dozen frigates had been blasted apart with all hands lost and the _Seeker_ would have to be towed back to Palaven and possibly disassembled and rebuilt from scratch. If this alliance from beyond Relay 314 possessed an entire fleet or similar warships in sufficient numbers then the Turian Hierarchy could not afford to turn its back on this looming threat.

"Sir, General Arterius' battle group has arrived and he is requesting a conference with all Fleet Captains, he's waiting for you in the CIC." Hen'ar informed him.

"I'll be there in just a minute," Kravos collapsed into his seat. "I have a headache that's only getting bigger with every passing minute as I learn more about our new foe."

"I'd heard the rumors, sir." Hen'ar nodded as she stepped up next to his seat and gazed out through the forward view ports of the bridge. "And here we were sent out to prevent a fight...it's rather ironic in a grim sort of way."

"Don't remind me." Kravos rested one hand over his eyes. "A lot of green recruits practically salivate for a good skirmish these days, but for all their training it's never fun to waltz into unknown regions and invade planets. It's a bloody nightmare, and they should be happy to contend with just pirates that have second rate weapons and the odd rogue mercenary ship."

Hen'ar turned her gaze down to her commander. "I can't imagine what else we can do at this point, sir. They opened fire on us first."

"I know that, and it's not the problem." Kravos rose to his feet. "Lieutenant, how many battles have you been in?"

"Eight pirate incursions, two slaver interceptions and I saw some of the action over on Laeross'e (Lay-rose-ey)," Hen'ar answered. "Four of these events while under your command."

"And in every case you have either been on board a fully armed warship of the Hierarchy, or equipped with military issue weapons and armour while backed up by your fellow soldiers against inferior firepower or numbers." Kravos presumed. "I know that you've served diligently and with integrity throughout your career, but a war with an entire species is something else entirely. And we are now at war with four or more different races."

He walked towards the forward view ports and stared at a second Turian Dreadnaught now dangling in the void with an escort of three new cruisers and a dozen frigates trailing behind it. Kravos folded his hands behind his back and continued speaking. "The Hierarchy will likely attempt to envelope this group as a vassal state, which will require near or total domination of their territories. We know that they are a space faring coalition of sorts, that they possess energy weaponry ranging from hand held to ship based and that their cruisers can tear apart our frigates and their own smaller vessels can stand up to them. For all we know they may have whole armadas that stretch across dozens of systems and a dedicated army waiting for us to come through that relay."

Kravos turned towards Hen'ar again. "Even if they are just a motley collection of scavengers with a few dozen ships at their disposal this will turn into a blood bath until the Hierarchy is satisfied that any threat beyond Relay 314 is neutralized. That means hundreds, perhaps thousands of Turian soldiers are going to die."

Hen'ar saw her Captain's shoulders sag a bit as he walked past her, whispering softly to himself. "Why did they have to fire...why did they have to kill my men and bring this on themselves?" He shook his head and took a deep breath. "I will take part in the pacification of this collective Lieutenant, and I may have been the first to declare a bloody vengeance against them...but don't expect me to be jumping for joy at the prospect of what shall follow in the next few days."

Kravos left the bridge and relocated to the CIC just a few dozen feet aft. The crew within vacated while the lights dimmed and the seasoned Captain stepped into the heart of the room. A moment later Kravos found himself standing before the holographic image of Desolas Arterius, a respected and even feared Turian General who had earned his rank in the more gruesome fights that the Turian Hierarchy still took part in.

"Captain Prinius, welcome." Desolas greeted him. "I have gone over the salvaged technology and medical reports and was wondering if you could verify these findings for me."

"I can, sir." Kravos nodded while standing at attention.

"Good, then you might also verify certain details surrounding the initial engagement with the enemy," Desolas nodded, folding his hands behind his back, "I received a copy of your combat footage, but I decided to wait until we could gather and view it together to analyze the enemy fleet's actions, tactics and weaknesses as well as discuss any actions you took in the span of this engagement." He nodded to somebody out of view before the images of the Turian General vanished, replaced by a representation of the battle compiled from drone footage and ship board sensors.

"Begin," Desolas' disembodied voice commanded, and the image of Commander Onkari's battle group began to move in towards the five initial enemy ships. "Captain, kindly provide details as these events occur."

"Of course General," Kravos nodded, "Commander Onkari chose to approach the enemy fleet. He sent a message stating his intent to initiate contact, and that he would hold fire unless given proper reason. I chose to allow this."

Moments later the relay flared as the additional three enemy ships appeared and immediately began to fire...however Kravos took notice of something. Now that he had a clear visual of the battle's opening he could see that the three new enemy ships appeared to be dividing their fire between his vessels and the original enemy group. One of the unarmed ships was hit immediately, suffering damage all along its length as red bolts of laser fire and green globules of plasma tore into its hull. The three armed ships in the original group returned fire.

"I...at this point Onkari issued an alert stating that he had been fired upon, and had already lost a frigate." Kravos continued, a chill running up his spine, "I issued an order for the fleet to make a short range tactical jump to come to his aid."

As the battle played out the Turian fleet began to unload with everything it had. The entire time Kravos managed to keep his eyes on the ships who Onkari had been approaching, the two survivors who had managed to flee through the relay...

They had fired on his ships, but only in the process of trying to flee back towards the relay and protecting the single remaining unarmed vessel. The ships from the second group continued to fight to the death, taking many Turians with them and trying to take out the ships from the first group with an almost frantic persistence. It became clear to him that these two groups had been fighting one another as much as he had been fighting both of them.

"...spirits," Kravos whispered, realizing the colossal mistake that he had made. "Those other ships...they weren't enemy reinforcements...they were pursuing the first group, they were attacking them and my ships at the same time!"

Desolas reappeared, rubbing his chin as he examined these events. "Indeed..." He murmured, "A rather...tragic misunderstanding if I do say so." He looked over at Kravos and saw the Captain's horrified expression. "...Captain, you know that you aren't responsible for this."

"Aren't I?!" Kravos demanded, "If I had stopped and looked at the sensors for maybe five seconds I could have-"

"You would have been focusing on something besides rushing to the aid of your fellow soldiers and minimizing the casualties in your fleet." Desolas cut him off. "The moment that Onkari sent that distress call you reacted the way any soldier is expected to: moving as quickly as possible to eliminate the enemy and protect his comrades. You panicked, yes. Your fellow captains panicked, yes. You all only could think that some new, strange race had opened fire and declared war against you and was about to wipe out a whole battle group with new and powerful energy weapons that can carve through our ships easily."

He set a hand on Kravos' shoulder, the hologram mimicking the physical contact on both ends of the link. "In the rush of battle it is easy to miss details that can be spotted from the sidelines, when under pressure it is easy to jump to action and not stop until your instincts tell you it is safe. The moment your fleet arrived at the site of that battle they did the only thing they were trained to: attack until there was no enemy left to fight against."

"And you were one hundred percent justified in it," Desolas finished his lecture.

Kravos sighed, relaxing his posture. "...you're right sir...thank you."

Desolas retracted his hand and resumed his previous pose. "Onkari probably could have told us this himself if he'd survived, but with how everything happened so fast that the last thing I expect anyone in your fleet would be doing is pausing to think. Hindsight can be cruel, but rest assured I will not allow you to be made a scapegoat when the fault clearly lies with these aliens," He turned and looked at the frozen images of the alien ships, "Which is why I am authorizing you and your remaining ships to accompany my fleet as we pacify this new race."

That took a moment to reach Kravos. "What? Pacify? But sir, this new information-"

"Changes nothing," Desolas said dismissively. "Let me tell you the facts Captain: your fleet was attacked without provocation by one group of ships that happened to be attacking a similar group of ships, which perhaps belonged to two different factions. These ships use a powerful array of energy weapons that might take us years to even begin to replicate or create defences against. They might have an entire fleet employing these weapons with such effect that they can pose a threat to a fully armed Turian armada and potentially begin encroaching on Council territory by force of arms if left unchecked."

Desolas continued on without stopping, pacing slowly in front of Kravos. "Now let me tell you what we can only speculate on. Perhaps the faction that fired on you was a group of pirates, or perhaps they were a military fleet pursuing a group of pirates. We know absolutely nothing about these people and I will not run the risk of them returning to this system and having free run of Council space where they might attack other ships or perhaps entire colonies. And most importantly, even if they do not have any hostile intentions their very presence is a threat to the delicate balance of power in Council Space, even if we somehow reverse engineer what you have retrieved from them and apply it to our own ships."

Desolas fixed Kravos with a piercing stare. "Now tell me, Captain Pridius, can you think of any reason that I should allow this new race to run rampant after this? Over three hundred Turians are dead, their families will cry out for answers as to why...and I intend to give them that answer."

Under the General's stare and his cold but honest words Kravos couldn't offer any defence. "I...I can't give you any reason sir." He whispered.

"Good," Desolas replied, "We will wait for repairs to be finished on your ships, and then we shall conduct reconnaissance to track these ships back to their port of harbour. Once we have an identifiable target...we strike with overwhelming force and take control of it or destroy it if necessary. The Hierarchy will send further reinforcements as we proceed, and once this race is pacified and under control we can sort out the facts behind the events that have occurred in this system."

Kravos could see Desolas pick up a data pad. "As a General of the Hierarchy I'm using my own authority to authorize this counter attack. The Council will see the sense in this, though they'll likely give me grief for it I always did prefer asking for their forgiveness instead of their blessing...at least then I have some chance instead of no chance at all of getting anything from them."

This was...amoral, it was wrong to even consider.

Kravos' righteous fury had been extinguished with doubt by what he had seen. Could it be that the people who Onkari would have made contact with were peaceful? Would they still have attacked anyways? He might never know, his men might never find closure after this, but he didn't want to support an invasion that might result in countless deaths on both sides if there was reasonable doubt to cast on the idea that the Hierarchy was truly at war. He needed all of the facts, he needed to know what had been going through the minds of the crews of the three aggressive ships when they had seen Onkari's group and elected to attack.

This went against everything that Kravos valued.

It was easy to see that Desolas would not give him any choice on this. He could declare Kravos mentally incompetent, traumatized from the deaths of so many men under his command, appoint somebody more cooperative. Kravos would be humiliated, stripped of everything he had worked so hard for...but was his rank and reputation more important to him than pursuing the truth behind this pointless battle?

...

This was the only path that Kravos could follow now.

"Yes sir," Kravos closed his eyes and prayed to his ancestors for forgiveness, "I will prepare my fleet to join you once repairs are complete."

Desolas nodded, setting aside his data pad, "Excellent," He replied, "I'll leave you to your work in the meantime and signal you when the fleet is prepared to deploy for pursuit through Relay 314. Desolas, out." His image vanished, leaving Kravos alone as the lights slowly turned back on.

Xxx

 **March 11** **th** **, 2353**

 **Shanxi, New Taiyuan**

The capital of Shanxi was constructed on a wide and flat plain several miles from a coastline, part of the city cut off by a river that ran through the western sector and towards the ocean. Many of the smaller structures under four stories were the basic Alliance design for colonial settlements: white and built up by several floors, connected by exterior stairwells. The larger buildings held more...variety to them, many bearing designs reminiscent of New Taiyuan's namesake back on Earth. After the colonial board had finished setting up the bare basics of the colony they had allowed architects and community boards to get more creative in how they wanted their city to be designed, and for the most part they had allowed anything to go so long as it kept the city within the established perimeter of New Taiyuan's fifteen meter high outer wall, which was dotted with mass driver turrets and rotary laser cannons.

Just a few hours ago this place had been bustling with thousands of Alliance citizens travelling to work, shopping in the market areas, enjoying time off in parks or sitting down for some food in the cafes. Now as Owen walked through the plaza at the heart of the city the only life he could see were several patrols of Alliance marines scouring for anybody who had not yet evacuated to the underground vaults.

Before any bricks could be set for New Taiyuan itself, the Alliance had spent a fortune digging down several miles, constructing protective shelters large enough to hold thousands each and sustain them for months. Each vault was rated for holding up to eight thousand in relative comfort, but was intended to handle five thousand so that supplies could be stretched out for longer periods. There were almost a dozen of these vaults in New Taiyuan, and over three times as many constructed in the surrounding countryside for the scattered settlements and to help evenly displace the city's population in case any of the vaults were discovered.

A honking drew Owen's attention just before a vehicle slid to a stop alongside him. It was a large armored scout vehicle mounted on four large tires and wielded a mounted rotary cannon. The side popped open, a door being pushed up and out of the way so a man in dark brown Alliance Marine armour could offer him a hand. "We're your ride sir, welcome to Shanxi."

Owen accepted the helping hand and climbed into the ARV (Armored Recon Vehicle), otherwise known as a Hummer based off of the old Pre-War vehicle favored by the American military. It was spacious, mainly because it wasn't jammed full of marines or weapons, and the only other occupants were three humans, two in the front and one sitting next to Owen.

"Comm. Centre, right?" The driver asked, waiting to receive a nod from Owen before he moved the ARV forward, cruising through the empty streets without having to worry about even driving on the right side of the road.

The marine sitting next to Owen looked over at the older man. "We uh...heard that your fleet was the one that got hit by those aliens. Is it all true, everything they're saying? Are we being invaded?"

Owen gave a weary sigh and turned to the Corporal. "Son, trust me when I say that you don't want to be thinking or chatting at a time like this or about this particular topic. It gives you time to just get afraid of whatever your mind thinks up. Just know that these things can die like we can and just as easily, and that puts them well within our area of expertise, just like with raiders or hostile mutants or renegade robots." He clapped the man on the shoulder. "So if they do come looking for a fight then you show them that we humans are a little too kickass for their tastes."

The Corporal nodded, Mason's speech having had some effect on him and the two marines listening from the front, boosting their confidence a bit. Mason's words were not exactly lies, but he didn't know the first thing about what these aliens were, what they looked like, how they fought or how they would react to Manifest's blundering.

But he couldn't let the troops feel as shitty as he did.

After several more minutes and casual chatter the ARV slowed to a stop outside of the colony's Communication Centre. Owen climbed out and thanked the marines before stepping inside and flashing his ID to a guard, who allowed him into a large and empty circular room lined with raised platforms that were linked to a series of FTL Communication arrays (compliments of the Martian Cache).

Owen stepped up onto one of the platforms, causing a floating hologram in the shape of a menu to appear. He tapped on different options, selecting a system, followed by a planet and then a specific contact number that his call could be forwarded to. After that he waited for several moments, wondering what time it was at the location of the recipient...

"Connection established. Linking you to Lost Hills, California, Earth, Sol System."

The hologram of an older man appeared in front of Owen, clad in the standard power armour of the Brotherhood of Steel (although greatly slimmed down compared to what it had been decades ago anmd sleeker than what marines and Paladins wore). He also wore a long coat as a symbol of his status, and lacked a helmet. His age was in the early sixties, thirteen years older than Owen, but if anything the man somehow looked even younger.

" _Owen,_ " Inquisitor Alex Mason greeted his younger brother with a smile, " _I heard about what's unfolding over in Shanxi. It's good to see that you're alright._ "

Owen cracked a smile and nodded. "I'd be glad to see me too, Alex." He replied, "Just thought that I should give you a call in case things go south here."

" _It sounds to me like they already have,_ " Alex replied, crossing his arms. " _It's just the family luck that one of us would be present when a new war starts. If I could I'd already be flying over there, but Parliament is insistent on having us prepare the rest of Alliance space for a possible invasion, and unfortunately that means they're cutting free relay travel for the time being._ "

"Figures," Owen huffed, "We should already have three times as many ships here, but they're pissing themselves so much that they'd rather just have us stall the enemies."

" _It's not just them, Owen. People are frightened._ " Alex explained, trying to placate his irritated sibling. " _They disclosed the basics of what's happening at Shanxi to justify the sudden security precautions, and the people need to know that their safety is the priority. In the short time since things went public we've already had a few riots, and some big nosed politician went as far as to accuse you of causing that battle...High Inquisitor Maxson only blackened one of his eyes for that, by the way._ "

The accusation didn't surprise Owen. He was certain that for many years after this, assuming humanity still existed by then, people would seek some way to pin the blame on him, the second 'inferior' son of Logan and Sarah Mason. People liked to build up a person in their heads, and just loved to watch them fall. Owen had seen how many believed the fact that he had not endured years of isolation from a safe and loving home as Alex did in his youth had left Owen with an 'inferiority complex' (all it really made him feel was grateful that he wasn't even born before their parents had gone to the Forbidden City over fifty years ago. The paparazzi and social circles had convinced themselves that Owen, the inferior child with something to prove, would do many stupid and reckless things in a misguided effort to leave his mark in the Mason family's history.

Owen let out a chuckle. "Good to know that Jason's still got our backs."

Alex nodded. " _He's getting ready to send the whole Fifth Flotilla out to help, it just needs some final preparations before it can get moving. And Hannah let me know that she'll be leading the charge if they give her battle group the all clear to move out._ "

Knowing that there were many old faces ready to rush to his aid made Owen thankful, especially since said old faces were powerful and influential in many circles.

"I can't stay for much longer," Owen said after several moments, "They're going to cut off any open transmissions in a few minutes, I only just got away to place this call."

" _I understand,_ " Alex replied, " _Owen...be careful out there. Our families have suffered enough losses, and I don't want to bury you too._ "

"Me? Buried?" Owen smirked. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, big bro."

" _I'm serious,_ " Alex glanced around as if checking the room on his end of the link for any prying eyes or ears. " _There is something else too. I need you to keep your eyes open for somebody who would have arrived in Shanxi only yesterday. If she was still there when you triggered Desert Ranger protocol then she'll still be there now._ "

Owen raised one brow. "Who is it?"

" _An Inquisitor from Terra Nova, Victoria Grey._ "

"Any relation to the old NCR president?" Owen asked.

" _Negative, but the Grey's were generous enough to lend her the surname. She...is a valuable asset to the Brotherhood, and if you see her I would appreciate if you could make sure she joins the civilians in the shelters._ "

That set off alarms in Owen's head. "Whoa now bro," He saved both hands, "Time out. Soldiers aren't supposed to be in the shelters during an invasion, especially not Brotherhood Inquisitors, only colonial militia members."

" _Damn it Owen listen to me!_ " Alex raised his voice, now aggravated. " _She's been given exclusive authorization to be an exception to this rule by Jason himself. We cannot lose her. If you find her or hear of her whereabouts you are to make sure she receives this!_ "

"Alright, alright," Owen backed off, "Why didn't you just contact her yourself?"

" _She likely doesn't realize that she's been ordered to the shelters. She has no reason to suspect anything is different._ " Alex explained. " _All I can do is put out the word. Please Alex,_ " His voice took on a...pleading tone, " _You have to make sure that no harm comes to Victoria Grey._ "

"I'll make sure that she hears about this order," Owen promised, "But what makes her so special anyways?"

Alex sighed, " _I suppose that you do deserve an explanation for this...but I can't promise that it'll make you happy. Victoria's real name is-_ " Suddenly the image began to glitch.

"Alex? Hey, you're not coming in clearly!" Owen waved his arms. "Hey!"

The image vanished, replaced by a holo-screen informing Owen that public FTL communications had been cut.

"Damn it all," Owen sighed, "Victoria Grey, Inquisitor, gotta remember that." He mumbled to himself as he turned and left.

Xxx

 **March 12** **th** **, 2353**

 **Shanxi, BSF** _ **Chairman Benny**_

They had done all that they could to prepare in the past day that they had been given. In the end they had managed to scrape together eighteen patrol ships consisting of fifteen Wanderer class frigates from nearby systems, two Paladin class cruisers and a single Liberty class carrier that had scrambled from picking up a shipment from a mining colony to rush to Shanxi's defence. When added to the usual six defence frigates that were stationed at Shanxi by the Brotherhood of Steel this gave the planet an admirable amount of ships (by human standards that is). When combined with the _Chairman Benny's_ defences along with the smaller defence satellites stationed around the planet this small fleet could be very effective...in theory anyways.

The main issue with this defence was that nobody had ever expected to ever be attacked by aliens. Once the civilians were put into the shelters and the ground defences had been established the SCDA Board had disclosed the true purpose of this sudden state of alert. They had kept their cool, but now that they were aware that they would be fighting more than a few terrorists the colonial marines and even the Brotherhood Knights and Paladins were feeling tense. The only reason they weren't questioning the validity of this claim was because Thompson had dropped the 'Desert Ranger Protocol' bomb, which would have gotten him executed if he had raised a false alarm.

Williams had gotten to work on emptying out the smaller settlements of anything useful to put towards the defence of the capital. Throughout the streets barricades of metal and even a few rare force fields had been erected to protect the anti-air emplacements strewn throughout the population center while the entirety of the garrison was still hard at work in setting up choke points and defence rings centering around The Shanxi Citadel.

The eighty story building was the heart of Shanxi and served as its center of government and military in addition to being the location of the Shell's primary emitter. Other emitters were scattered throughout the city, many of them redundant and simply to increase the likelihood of the Shell still working even if several were destroyed.

Williams and Deathstalker had pulled out every ace they had up both their sleeves and their asses-and even a few that they didn't to make Shanxi ready for any invasion. They and Elder Thompson would have been more comfortable if they at least had a mothership or a couple more Paladin Cruisers to support them, but there wouldn't be any reinforcements for at least a few more hours.

The second issue with the defence was that for all the advancements that they had made in the past few decades the Alliance's most powerful warships were the Zeta type motherships and their special long range fighters, which were ridiculously expensive to make material wise. The Wanderer Frigates and Paladin cruisers didn't have any Prolat energy cannons or shielding on them, just human designed plasma or laser weaponry and kinetic barriers. Many had felt uncomfortable with Kinetic barriers for the reason that they were nearly useless in battle against Manifest ships, which used energy weapons just like the Alliance did; at best they could disperse the damage of plasma artillery or deflect a missile barrage. Unfortunately even Paladin cruisers weren't able to provide enough energy to power Prolat made shielding, and the egg heads back in the home system had yet to improvise a Theta Energy reactor for purely human vessels.

This left the defenders with the fleet they could scrape together in a hurry, a garrison manned by green colonial marines and brotherhood soldiers who hadn't expected to be in a real fight and a shield that hadn't even been fully tested for fighting off a continuous barrage by even a single full sized warship. And on top of this mess they had to worry about the civilian population being safe in their vault shelters, which certainly wouldn't protect them for long if the Shell collapsed.

It didn't take a genius to know that they were anything but confident that this paltry defence could fight off a full scale invasion if these mystery aliens pursued them through the relay, and nobody dared to send a drone through to get a peek at the system on the far side.

Elder Thompson had remained aboard the _Chairman Benny_ to coordinate the Celestial Defence Line with Captain Deathstalker and Captain Mason, who would be with Thompson to personally assist in coordinating the fortress' fire if or when the aliens arrived. Everybody had changed out of their regular fatigues and robes and now wore a trimmed down version of Alliance Power Armour that still provided the physical enhancements that the old models did, but were a lot less bulky and were equipped with Kinetic Barrier generators. The heavy shock troopers wore variants closer to what the Brotherhood used to tote around, but they had all been sent down below to the capital.

"Terra Nova is scrambling their own fleet," Mason informed Thompson, snapping the ghoul out of his thoughts. "They've promised that they'll be here with the rest of the fleet that Sol has promised to send."

"The entire Third Fleet along with chunks of the First from Sol, the Second from Arcturus and two entire Flotillas from the Brotherhood." Thompson counted off. "I'll be a hell of a lot happier if we have that much fire power on our side, but I'll also be a hell of a lot deader if these aliens don't show up at all."

"I'm the one who came to you with this info," Mason said, watching as the Paladin Class Cruiser _Sharon of Rose_ drifted by outside, accompanied by a wave of regular interceptors. "It was my fleet that encountered these aliens, and my testimony that led you to make the call. They won't execute you, and I doubt they'd even have enough justification to lop off my head either."

"Oh you underestimate the power of politicians," Thompson chuckled. "I miss the days back when it was just a few people in charge of the Alliance. One faction had a leader, they all came together and talked about a problem, and then they blew that problem's face off and had lunch before discussing the next problem to kill or talk down."

"I know how you feel about that, believe me." Owen Mason sighed. "But times have changed. Civilization has come back and unfortunately that means rules and rights and due process and the one bad part about it all: politics."

Thompson nodded and stepped out of the command center, Mason following alongside him. "At least when Arthur was still running things they all bowed their heads and shut up. Jason Maxson's an alright leader, but people considered his old man to be the collective incarnation of Jesus, Achilles and Grognak the Barbarian. If he said 'we have to do this' then you could be damn well assured that it would be done. Now they just keep moaning about the Brotherhood having too many ships, accusing us of hording some new technology or are back to doing what the business suits of old would do: count their money."

"I know things aren't perfect, but I think you're overstating the matter." Mason replied as a squadron of armored Brotherhood marines marched past them, pausing to salute the Elder and receiving a lazy salute in return before resuming their circuit. "This isn't Pre-War America and our government isn't the Enclave even if some are descended from it. Besides, you like Irons, don't you?"

"That's only because he has the capacity for common sense." Thompson knew that Senator James Irons had big shoes to fill, given that his grandfather was the legendary Enclave President who had helped set the foundation for the entire Alliance. "And because he isn't riding the High Inquisitor's ass every other week. Don't get me wrong Mason, I know that not everybody who goes into government is some self serving rat, I just miss how simple things used to be before all this talk of government oversight and required paper work crawled its way out of the corpse of the old world and decided to latch onto the Alliance."

Mason fought the urge to snort or even smile. "If you'd prefer I heard that the Outcasts are setting up their own independent colony, and they plan to run it like the Brotherhood from before my old man stepped in. Less paper work, more technology hording and shooting stuff."

Thompson huffed. "Heh, as if they'd let a Ghoul in."

The two finally arrived at the docks where the _Fawkes_ was still undergoing repairs. From the observation deck they had a good view of the Frigate, which had entire sections of plate armour cut away to allow repairs to be made to the skeletal structure beneath by teams of engineers. "I don't think that we'll have the old girl flying for another week at this rate, and just when we need every ship we can get."

"I'll wait a month if that's what it takes to get her back in the air and with the use of her own wings," Mason vowed, leaning against a metal guard rail and staring down at his vessel.

The _Fawkes_ had been in his care for several years now, and in that time it had become more than just a ship to him and his crew had become more than subordinates. He knew the full name of every man and woman who served on it, knew every inch of it inside and out and had long ago grown used to the hum of the engine core and the stale recycled air that built up over long missions away from any planets. Hell, he didn't even feel claustrophobic in it anymore; if anything just being on this beast of a star fortress made him feel like he was exposed.

She may not have been his first command, but the _Fawkes_ had served him well for six years and he would not allow her to be decommissioned until she flew and fought for at least six more.

"First we need to actually survive the next week," Thompson beckoned Mason over to a different section of the observation deck to a window overlooking a section of hangar where dozens of fighters and gunships were being prepared for deployment. "We have bogeymen on the far side of the relay who have us wetting ourselves for fear of them popping through and not nearly the amount of ships or troops that I'd prefer to tackle this with. If these aliens do come looking for a second round then our odds won't be looking too good based off of your run in with them."

The Ghoul turned his head towards Mason, showing one pale eye and another bloodshot. "We only just got away from one planet that was flattened by nuclear war; I don't want to see just what our first real interstellar war would do to the few colonies we have. Not even humanity has enough luck to survive two apocalyptic events."

Mason couldn't argue with the Elder's fears. Ever since he had engaged the aliens he feared that single battle resulting in an escalation, perhaps a full war that set the Alliance back to the pre-spaceflight era, or worse. He had no idea what their culture was, if they were reasonable or if they would have sought to enslave or exterminate even without Manifest's intervention; for all he knew they could have been an invasion force positioned in Tartarus that had reacted to his fleet crossing the relay in the first place.

"I guess we'll find out for sure just how forgiving they are if they ever send any ships after us," Mason rubbed his eyes. "In the meantime I'm going to try and get what little rest I can, haven't slept since yesterday."

"I'll sound your alarm if anything happens," Thompson promised as Mason saluted. "Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky, they won't send anything and you'll get a full night's rest."

Almost as soon as he finished speaking alarms began to wail as red lights flashed throughout every ship in the fleet.

" _Alert! Unscheduled relay activation in progress!_ "

Mason slowly turned his head to glare at the armored Ghoul. "...Elder, I am well aware that the following statement could get me disciplined later...but I hate you so much right now, fucking jinx."

Xxx

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing file...**

 **Opened file: FIRST CONTACT WAR**

 **If there is one thing that all sides can agree on: the presence of Manifest is solely to blame for what occurred following the initial skirmish in the Tartarus System between elements of the Turian 3** **rd** **Fleet and the Alliance Exploration Fleet, but the arrival of Desolas Arterius had eliminated any chance of the Turians seeking a diplomatic solution. It is believed that the General, fresh from another pirate suppression campaign at the time, saw the Alliance as a threat to galactic stability with their new technology and potentially hostile intentions. He had acknowledged that the Manifest ships were the sole aggressors in the 314 Skirmish, but chose to act in spite of this information on the justification that he could not take the chance that the ruling faction beyond the relay was truly hostile, nor could he allow them enough time to prepare for his intended counter attack.**

 **When he arrived in the Shanxi system Desolas found elements of the Brotherhood of Steel's 4** **th** **Flotilla and the Alliance Navy's 3** **rd** **Fleet ready to face his armada, supported by the Brotherhood Star Fortress** _ **Chairman Benny**_ **.**

 **FIRST CONTACT WAR CASUALTIES SUSTAINED AT TARTARUS**

 **Alliance: ASV** _ **Apollo**_ **(lost with all hands, 26), ASV** _ **Canaan**_ **(lost with all hands, 26), ACSV** _ **Fire Ant**_ **(lost with all hands, 40), 15 casualties from ASV** _ **Fawkes**_ **, 21 casualties from ACSV** _ **Columbus**_ **. Total: 128**

 **Hierarchy: THV** _ **Delphai**_ **(lost with all hands, 45), THV** _ **Tharacae**_ **(lost with all hands, 45), THV** _ **Athenon**_ **(lost with all hands, 45), THV** _ **Seeker**_ **(189 casualties). Total: 324**

 **Manifest:** _ **Patriot**_ **(lost with all hands, 26),** _ **Banner**_ **(lost with all hands, 26),** _ **Lexington**_ **(lost with all hands, 130). Total: 182**

 **WARNING, UNAUTHORIZED SYSTEM OVERRIDE IN PROGRESS...**

 **Ah, there we go, let's add one last line...**

 **Total amount of people killed due to Manifest and Desolas' collective idiocy: Too fucking many.**

End of Chapter

A/N: Now this chapter I am particularly worried about. I have gone back to it numerous times fixing small thing, adding new scenes, editing or removing some other things. I just feel that putting this up now was a mistake, but I'm trying to keep to my 24 hour posting pattern for at least a few more chapters. So I am relying on you to be as firm as you can in pointing out flaws, mistakes, inconsistencies and what not.

I temper my sense of self confidence in anticipation.


	4. Chapter 3: Fall of Shanxi

Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

On a final note, the spell check on my laptop and iPad appear to be in conflict on the topic how to spell Dreadnought (Dreadnaught on my laptop, Dreadnought according to google), so if you see the word being spelt in both forms that would just be the endless battle between me and the dreaded Legion of Auto Correct.

Xxx

Chapter Three: Fall of Shanxi, Part One

 **March 11th, 2353**

 **Shanxi System**

 **BSF** _ **Chairman Benny**_ **, in orbit over Shanxi**

 **Command Centre**

Elder Thompson stepped out of the central elevator and rushed to the elevated center of the circular room from which the orbital fortress was controlled. An array of holo-screens appeared around him, displaying tactical data reviewing the fleet's statistics, status of different vessels and defence satellites and the numbers of the fleet pouring through the Shanxi-Theta relay.

"Talk to me," He spoke, "Give me numbers and sizes."

"Hostile numbers are still increasing sir," A response was called out, "They just passed a hundred! Most of the contacts are frigate analogue classes formed up in formations of six around the larger cruiser analogues, but I'm also seeing two Carrier analogues with formations of ten frigates around them!"

A chill ran up Owen's spine. "I really wish we had a couple more cruisers or a mothership now," He mumbled.

Thompson enlarged one of the holo-screens. "Visual display, get me sights on this fleet!"

Recon drones scattered in the region surrounding the relay began to transmit visual data at FTL speeds across the system, showing a swarm of ships establishing a formation just out of reach of the relay. The two larger ships were arranged near the centre of the fleet, and each cruiser had a good distance between each other while their frigate escorts followed them in an arrow shaped formation.

The final count came in at eighteen cruiser analogues, two carrier analogues and one hundred and twenty eight frigate analogues. These numbers dwarfed the largest fleet that the Alliance could field in a single operation, save for a warfront. It also grossly outnumbered the measly two dozen ships forming up around the Chairman.

"Christ on a crapper," Thompson rattled, eyes wide in their hollow sockets, "Whoever these guys are, they sure aren't playing around."

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnought** _ **A'kelez**_

 **Command Deck**

The command deck of the mighty Turian dreadnought was lit only by the holo-panels and screens. Just like with human ships Turians had no time for putting a window right over the very heart of operations aboard the most powerful class of ship in the Galaxy's most feared navy, and focused on protecting the command crew as they coordinated with gunnery crews and other ships , providing them with a suitable interface to allow them to prioritize targets and maneuver out of the way of oncoming fire. The Turians occupying the dimly lit room worked in silence, not reflecting the sense of anxious anticipation flooding through the whole fleet.

And sitting dead in the centre was a Turian female, sitting on a chair that was elevated over the other stations to give her a clear view of her subordinates' work and provide her own input when needed. She leaned back calmly in her seat, one leg crossed smoothly over the other and regarding an image of the alien defence fleet being projected much in the same way it had been between General Arterius and Captain Pridius. The Turian fleet was represented by a swarm of blue silhouettes moving in formation, spread out to force the defenders to divide their lines of fire to keep track of them; the defenders were represented by red silhouettes surrounding the colossal station, and several other satellites were spotted floating in proximity.

"Admiral, those satellites are emitting massive amounts of energy," A turian operator reported, "I believe they may be armed defence platforms."

Admiral Varia Trisun rotated her head a bit and glanced at the speaker. "Noted. Mark them as hostile emplacements and update fleet targeting data. Hold outside highest estimated effective range of enemy artillery and establish contact with the _Galius_."

The Turian ships began to slow as one, their feathered designs resembling graceful and deadly avian predators hovering over prey. Several formations of fighters had deployed from every cruiser, launching from tubes built into the belly of the warships and flanking their motherships. They served as a foil for the blocky and dull colored warships cluttered protectively around the largest station, which a quick scan revealed to be positioned over a medium sized settlement.

The red tinted form of Desolas Arterius materialized before Admiral Trisun. "Admiral, I believe we have our first target." He said in his own form of greeting, sounding pleased.

Trisun frowned. "Don't forget the plan, General. We extend our ultimatum first, and we do not move to attack unless one of the outlined scenarios occur."

If the enemy fleet attempted to attack, refused or failed to acknowledge the Turians' only offer of surrender or attempted to flee the fleet was to move forward and secure orbital supremacy by any means necessary.

Desolas frowned, clearly not pleased with how Trisun addressed him. "I am well aware of how we are expected to conduct this operation, Admiral. Send your package to these aliens, and if they do acknowledge it this shall be a bloodless takeover."

Varia Trisun had worked with Desolas Arterius many times before in her naval career. If one were to ask her to summarize her thoughts on the man she would describe him as brutal, eager and devious. She hated him for his lack of regard for the life of anyone outside of Hierarchy citizens, how he pretended to be so concerned for the safety of all beings-he certainly had a way of making people think he was acting in the interest of the common good though, and how he was good enough at his job to leave Palaven Command bowing their heads as he passed and singing praises of his accomplishments.

Many saw him as a hero, as a model of Turian discipline and authority, a blazing star who never left his enemies any hope of escape.

She saw him as an up-jumped child who had a few medals on his chest and thought he could do no wrong. This may have been a power trip for the great Desolas Arterius, but Trisun intended to conduct herself as a Turian should: an embodiment of professional conduct, knowing when to act and when to retreat without shame, and most of all focusing on the preservation of peace rather than the destruction of life.

The expedition may have been his, but the fleet and its soldiers were hers and she intended to remind him of that at every turn.

"Admiral, the VIs have finished composing the data package and we are ready to deploy."

Now all she could do was wait.

Xxx

 **BSF** _ **Chairman Benny**_

 **Command Centre**

One of the Knights took notice of an alert popping up on their screen and quickly turned, addressing the armoured Ghoul behind him, "Elder Thompson, the alien fleet is transmitting a data package to us."

A sudden silence fell over the room, all eyes turning to Thompson in anticipation for his response to this.

After several moments of deliberation Thompson grunted, "Aw to hell with it...check it for spyware and keep our AIs on guard, but let the thing in and let's see what the aliens have to say."

The Knight nodded and turned back to his console, accepting the data package-which appeared to be oddly compatible with the Chairman's systems, perhaps due to the eerie similarity between the reverse engineered Prothean electronics and this fleet's own computers.

"Could these be Protheans?" Owen voiced the question on everybody's mind.

Ever since the discovery of the Prothean cache on Mars, humanity had learned that something far older and perhaps stronger than the Prolat, if not more numerous, had been watching them. Needless to say this had put many on edge, wondering if the Protheans were still out there, watching, waiting to make their return. The idea of some advanced alien empire spying on them millennia ago had encouraged the accelerated development of the Alliance Navy.

Could this be the fear becoming reality?

"Let's wait to see what they have to say, we might just find out." Thompson insisted as the main screen changed to show the contents of the data package.

It appeared to be a visual message, using symbols and pictures to display a three dimensional representation of a planet, presumably Shanxi. Orbiting it was a group of vessels surrounding a large structure (the Alliance and Brotherhood fleet), and approaching it was a swarm of vessels that were obviously meant to represent the alien fleet.

"They don't have enough information to translate our language," Owen realized, "The computers on the exploration fleet would have been wiped and the hardware was trashed. They wouldn't have anything to use to try and form a translation program."

Thompson nodded, crossing his arms as he added, "So they're using a visual aid."

The Turian fleet approached, and began to exchange fire with the defence fleet. Losses were incurred on both sides, but eventually the Turian fleet was left victorious and assumed orbital supremacy over New Taiuyan.

This made anybody viewing this feel a mixture of discomfort at the implied threat behind the message.

The scene suddenly reset, but instead of the Alliance fleet fighting back its ships dimmed and seemed to power down. The Turian fleet moved in, more numerous than those who had survived in the first scenario. The scene was basically the same, but the Alliance ships were left intact and undamaged.

"So they're basically telling us to surrender or die." Thompson drawled, "How original."

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnought** _ **A'kalez**_

 **Command Deck**

"The enemy ships are not powering down their weapons, Admiral."

Trisun sighed. "Give it a little time."

"We should strike now," Desolas urged. "Every moment we grant them is another for them to plan and prepare!"

Trisun cast the younger officer a glare. "General Desolas, this fleet does not move without my command, and my command is that we shall give these people a brief period to acknowledge our demand." She laced her fingers together and leaned forward in her chair. "Let us see just how far they are willing to go."

Desolas growled irritably. "Foolishness."

"Not all officers are so quick to resort to opening fire before exhausting alternatives," Trisun reminded him, "Be patient, boy, if you are lucky then they will refuse to surrender and you shall get the battle you crave."

She dismissed his image, cutting the transmission before she could even see the young general bristle in fury at the lack of respect she paid him.

"Spirits cursed brat." Trisun muttered under her breath.

Xxx

 **BSF** _ **Chairman Benny**_

 **Command Centre**

"We don't have any choice," Thompson declared, "We cannot allow this fleet to take control of Shanxi. Regardless of their intentions or whether or not they would spare us, we will treat any approach by this fleet as an aggressive act and respond appropriately."

Owen gripped Thompson's shoulder. "Hold on now, even with the Chairman's cannons fortifying the defence line up here we can't hold back that many ships."

"I know," Thompson tugged his shoulder free of Owen's grip, "That's why any personnel who would be more useful down on the ground are to immediately vacate my station via the nearest convenient transport or escape pod." He turned and pulled his plasma pistol from his belt, the weapon unfolding to its full size with a series of clicking and whirring noises while he held it out by the barrel, "That includes you, Captain. Now kindly get your ass off my station while you still can and do what you can for the people on the ground."

Owen shook his head, objecting to this command. "I'm not going to just abandon this station, it's still got my damn ship on it if you recall." He pointed out.

Thompson forced the gun into Owen's hand. "You are abandoning it because if you don't I'll just eject what's left of your ship and you can pick up what's left on the surface if you even survive this."

Owen gave an irritated sigh, "Fucking extortionist," He muttered while flipping the safety off on the sidearm and attaching it to a magnetic strip on his own belt for safe keeping, "Try not to die up here old man, I was just getting around to liking you."

"Old? You little shit, I still have the same skin I did almost three centuries ago, and not a gray hair on me!" Thompson cackled as Owen turned and stormed out of the command centre, only settling down once the Captain was gone and facing the command crew again. "The offer extends to all of you too. I can coordinate the station's defences from here and take a chunk out of the enemy fleet before they overwhelm us."

"Elder Thompson, we don't have anything you can threaten to jettison," One of the Knights responded, not even facing the Elder as she brought the anti-ship plasma artillery online. "We're here to stay until this is over."

Thompson shook his head, "Kids these days. Fine then, let's make sure we take as many of these bastards with us as we can in that case. The fleet will act as our shield but we have to thin the enemy ranks if we don't want them to get swept aside in the first wave. When the enemy fleet starts moving you pick your targets and don't stop 'til it's dead or running scared."

He settled into his chair at the heart of the room. "Brothers, sisters...it has been an honour."

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnought** _ **A'kalez**_

 **Command Centre**

 **Five minutes past deployment of surrender demand**

"Well, that is long enough for me." Trisun decided, "We've given these aliens their chance, so now Desolas gets to have his wish." She straightened up in her chair. "Transfer fleet coordination to my chair, advise all ships to have their Nav VIs sync with my station. "

She was given several new holo-panels to punch commands into, guiding the symbols representing entire battle groups with a flick of her fingers and coordinating the entire fleet for their opening push.

"Cruisers hang back, remain spread out and deploy interceptor screens. Battlegroup _A'kalez_ form up and advance, quarter thrust; we're leading the fleet in." She ordered, "We're going to push into their lines with a Wake Charge."

A Wake Charge was meant to mimic the wake created by water craft, with a ship at the centre guiding a formation of ships flanking it on both sides in an arrow shaped formation. The ships at the front of this formation would be frigates charging ahead, accompanied by bomber squadrons carrying Disruptor torpedoes. Behind them would be the slower cruisers and Dreadnoughts with their remaining frigate escorts, waiting for the first wave to soften up the enemy defences.

The Turian fleet flawlessly rearranged itself into this very formation and charged ahead, the frigates gunning forward with fighter squadrons keeping up just a few dozen meters behind them.

"Initiate Cloaked Talon movement," Trisun's talons delicately danced across he tactical screen, assigning frigates from each wolf pack to form up along with squadrons of fighters ahead of the formation. "Transmitting firing coordinates and plotting post-barrage rally points." With a flash of her Omni-Tool Trisun's had a VI randomly sort the frigates into two groups that would converge following the initial step of her strategy.

Xxx

 **BSF** _ **Chairman Benny**_

 **Command Centre**

"What are they doing?" Thompson leaned forward, watching as the alien fleet entered formation only to them have a swarm of their frigate analogues accelerate ahead of the rest, escorted by a swarm of fighters, "Looks like they're keeping their big guns back and sending their faster ships and fighters to soften us up."

The aliens must have deduced correctly that the _Chairman_ would be the heart of the defence line and therefore would be heavily armed. Of course even a backwards idiot fresh out of an asteroid mine for the first time in a year could probably tell as much, considering Thompson had arranged the fleet close to the station.

"They aren't accelerating to their top recorded speed," One of the Knights informed the Elder. "Their main fleet is moving at a snail's pace, this group is only just pulling ahead."

What was their game plan? At this rate they would take minutes to reach a decent firing range instead of seconds.

Xxx

The Turian frigates suddenly accelerated again, leaving their main fleet in the dust and moving forward in unison, a swarm of forty frigates accompanied by as many as two hundred fighters.

This sudden charge did not affect the Alliance personnel now waiting anxiously for the opening shots of their first interstellar war to be fired. Hands gripped gunnery controls tightly, sweat formed on brows and thousands of Alliance crewmen watched as the frigates approached a line marked on the sensors as the Alliance Fleet's maximum effective firing range.

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnought** _ **A'kalez**_

 **Command Centre**

Trisun's peered at the tactical screen intently, sharing the nervous anticipation of her foes whether or not she was aware of this on some level.

"Wait…" She whispered. "Wait…"

The crews of the forty frigates seemed to be charging right into the meat grinder from the looks of the fleet they were closing in on. Despite this not one ship so much as wavered in formation, maintaining its course and keeping in line with the rest. They displayed the discipline and fine tuned training that the Hierarchy expected its soldiers to master…and Trisun's could not help but feel a mixture of pride and despair as she watched the reach the point of no return.

"Deploy Cloak," She commanded, causing every Turian in the room to fly into a flurry of movement as they prepared for their own part.

Right now this moment belonged to the brave crews and pilots diving right into the enemy's teeth.

Xxx

The Turian frigates unleashed a barrage of Disruptor Torpedoes. These lethal weapons were cold launched, having to basically drift out of their firing tubes and use the velocity of the vessels they were launched from to follow the flight path the frigates had set themselves on. Within a second all forty frigates peeled away in perfect synchronicity, having practiced this tactic under Admiral Trisun's many times in simulations. The fighters split up to follow their designated charge, keeping close as the torpedoes ignited their thrusters and charged ahead.

Xxx

 **BSF** _ **Chairman Benny**_

 **Command Centre**

"Incoming projectiles! Enemy ships have broken off their advance just beyond firing range!" A Knight shouted, tracking the forty projectiles as they streamed towards the Alliance Fleet at a slow pace. "They appear to be reducing velocity, and the sensors are picking up signs of mass effect fields around them."

"Recon drones are transmitting scanner results," A second knight reported, "The projectiles' masses are increasing. Sir, our barriers won't hold against something that bit. I don't think any ship could shrug off these things."

"Engage point defence screen! Shoot those damn things out of my air space!" Thompson barked. "And get me Deathstalker on the line!"

The Alliance Fleet came alive with a series of red laser beams lancing out from their defensive turrets. The HELIOS Defence Platforms located in proximity to the _Chairman_ joined in, revealing themselves for the first time as twelve golden beams lanced out and struck several of the torpedoes in mid flight. Within seconds the barrage was neutralized, but now Thompson took notice of something else.

"What am I looking at right now?" The ghoul whispered, staring at the storm of blue energy violently raging just beyond the reach of his fleet.

" _It would appear to be a…storm of some kind._ " The answer came from Captain Deathstalker aboard the cruiser _Sharon of Rose_. " _There is something at play here. Be on guard._ "

For several moments silence reigned across the small fleet as many tried to understand what had just happened. It almost felt anti climactic, but others felt a sense of relief, thinking it had been a bluff of some sort.

"Sir, those are mass effect fields…violent ones too. They appear to be generating powerful and inconsistent gravitational distortions." The Knight at the sensor station explained. "Sir, the combat reports from the Fawkes report use of these weapons against the hijacked Manifest cruiser, but the detonations recorded were more…concentrated to one area rather than spread out like this."

"What is their game?" Thompson wondered. "We can still fire through this easily enough."

" _I wouldn't be fully certain of that,_ " Deathstalker cautioned the ghoul, " _They have placed this with intent, and we have yet to see the full extent of their plan unfold._ "

"Enemy fleet is advancing! Full speed, deploying fighter screens ahead of their cruisers. The frigates from the initial charge are veering off to the sides, still outside the kill zone."

"When will the enemy enter the range of our cannons?" Thompson demanded.

"Thirty two seconds Elder Thompson!"

Thompson nodded. "Alright, let's see how they like to play games after they break their teeth against us."

" _The first shot is yours, Elder,_ " Deathstalker said humbly, " _The fleet will be ready to follow up afterwards._ "

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnought** _ **A'kalez**_

 **Command Centre, several moments earlier**

"Cloak is up!" The Tactical Officer bellowed.

Trisun reacted immediately. "All ships forward! Divert power to engines and forward barriers, get us in as close as you can! We're on the clock here, we need to have all three Talons ready to dig in when the Cloak falls!"

Xxx

The Turian Fleet was charging forward almost as fast as the first wave of frigates. Cruisers and Dreadnoughts fell behind against a frigate any day of course, but they still maintained an impressive speed as they soared through the void towards their target.

Once they crossed the line that their frigates had barely avoided the Alliance Fleet began to charge their weapons, but it was the _Chairman Benny_ that fired the opening salvo. A pair of green orbs of plasma shot out from an anti ship battery on the station and flew across the distance, aiming to meet the Turian fleet head on and strike at the two largest ships at the front of the formation…

But the moment they passed through the storm of mass effect fields the magnetic field keeping the plasma contained began to fail, suffering damage from the area where space-time was being bent to its limits. The projectiles managed to pass through, but they were beginning to break apart as they were designed to…or rather as they were designed to do after travelling several million more kilometres further. The violent gravity storm had weakened the magnetic fielding enough that the projectiles were mere clouds of plasma being carried forward by momentum by the time the _A'kalez_ and _Galius_ ploughed right into them and kept on moving with minor damage to their forward hull.

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnought** _ **A'kalez**_

 **Command Centre**

"Ma'am we took a hit…barely scratched the paint though." The tactical officer informed Trisun with a grin.

The Admiral did not respond, instead busying herself by directing orders to the captains of her fleet. "Remain on course and decelerate. Reroute excess thruster power back to main weapons."

The torpedoes used had been modified for this specific tactic. Instead of generating the random and violent mass effect fields in a single area, they produced them in a wider area at a sacrifice of reduced intensity. Forty torpedoes exploding in close proximity to one another while armed more than made up for this glaring loss of power. While it did next to nothing to stop the Alliance Fleet from detecting the Turians it made attacking with their powerful plasma weapons difficult and reduced the accuracy of their other weapons enough for Trisun's ships to get in far past the point where Alliance's main guns could have normally targeted them easily.

The consequence of using line of sight targeting was that it was rather useless if the space you were firing through was bending and shifting so much that it messed up a perfectly good shot.

Xxx

The Alliance Fleet realized that the _Chairman's_ opening shot had been wasted and immediately opened fire with their own main guns. Plasma bolts flew through the storm only to weaken or explode entirely, reduced from the compact high heat orbs of death into what amounted as fragile water balloons filled with plasma. Others tried to use lasers with greater effect, managing to sheer away layers of armour from the Turian cruisers, which were taking the fire meant for their smaller frigate counterparts.

As this went on the violent storm known as 'the Cloak' began to dissipate of its own accord. The Alliance Fleet suddenly found itself staring down the sights of twenty Turian capital ships that were far closer than many captains would have preferred. The Turian fleet opened up with a salvo of mass accelerator rounds, striking several of the Wanderer class frigates as they tried to evade and even destroying two of them.

Xxx

 **BSF** _ **Chairman Benny**_

 **Command Centre**

"Get me another firing solution!" Thompson barked as he watched the Turian Fleet instantly flood into the defence perimeter, far outnumbering his own fleet and drawing first blood with their opening barrage.

The HELIOS platforms blazed a trail through the conflict, managing to score several kills before the Turian fighter pickets began to focus on them. Each platform had several squadrons tasked to protect them, but it only took a single Disruptor torpedo from a fighter to cripple or outright destroy a platform. The golden beams began to grow less numerous, but left the wrecks of a half dozen Turian frigates in the opening minute of the fight.

Thompson could tell that this fight was going to be fast, brutal, and ending in the Turians' favour no matter what he did. The only thing he could do was maximize their casualties, soften them up for when the relief fleet arrived, and stall the invasion for as long as he could.

"Keep the _Shady Sands_ back out of range, task the _Gladiator_ and two frigates to protect it! Draw our fleet in closer towards the station; we'll nail those cruisers with our big guns!" Thompson called out orders as the main guns fired again.

This time they struck home against the side of a Turian cruiser, eating through the ablative armour easily and causing explosions to ripple along its frame as it listed to the side. The command crew of the _Chairman_ let out a cheer before quickly seeking out another target.

What nobody noticed until it was too late were the positions of the forty frigates from the first wave…now flanking the Alliance Fleet and the _Chairman_.

" _Elder! It would seem our enemy possesses no small measure of cunning!_ " Captain Deathstalker shouted. " _We cannot hold out for long, my combat AI estimates that we have minutes at best!_ "

Thompson growled out a response. "Then until those few minutes are up we make them bleed for it!"

A moment later the image of Grump appeared on a holo-pedestal next to the Elder. "Is this a bad time to mention that Owen still hasn't left the station?" The AI asked, arms crossed.

"Grump, this isn't the time," Thompson waved one hand dismissively. "Return to the _Fawkes_ and go into hibernation mode. If the enemy finds you, you have permission to self destruct."

"Oh, yippee." Grump drawled before vanishing.

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnought** _ **A'kalez**_

 **Command Centre**

"Admiral, the Talon is poised to strike." The Communications officer read a message from the frigate groups.

"They have leave to dig in when ready." Trisun nodded before the ship shuddered, receiving a laser broadside to its flank by one of the human cruisers. "Advise them to make it quick though."

She saw the second human cruiser further off, protecting what she had thought was the human dreadnought and flagship at first only to realize it had no main weapon, only swarms of fighters spewing from its hull.

"Task two frigate packs and a cruiser to attack the alien capital ships there." Trisun indicated the target. "We need that dreadnought sized ship out of commission, or at least for its fighter compliments to be thinned."

Xxx

As this went on, the two frigate flotillas charged in on the flanks, striking at the main body of the Alliance Fleet. Several frigates peeled off, heading right for the _Shady Sands_ and the _Gladiator_. Their two escorts engaged the eight frigates while the _Gladiator_ angled itself to protect the carrier, firing its broadside laser cannons and managing to destroy two of the frigates as they got in close.

Suddenly a projectile impacted against the _Gladiator's_ shields, followed by a second as a Turian cruiser moved in closer, firing off a round every five seconds. The Alliance Cruiser reoriented itself to meet this threat, but it's shields began to collapse after the fourth round and allowed the fifth shot to break through, impacting against its exposed flank and shattering the armour there.

Several of the remaining HELIOS platforms were close enough to assist and focused their fire on the Turian cruiser, carving clean into its sides and making its hull glow and bubble. Turian fighters were once again redirected to attack these platforms, and were met by reinforced Alliance fighter squadrons bolstered by surviving flights from the fallen HELIOS platforms. The pilots of the Hierarchy found these targets much harder to get near as a result of the sheer amount of fighters, but still fought without hesitation to carve through the human fighter wings with fire support from one of the frigates tasked with the destruction of the _Shady Sands_. Blue beams of energy lanced out from the frigate, blasting apart several of the fighters ahead as it drove through the madness created by the clashing ships.

Upon clearing the battle with several Alliance fighters in pursuit the frigate set itself on a flight path leading straight towards one of the platforms and cold launched a single Disruptor Torpedo just a little short of the invisible line marked as the minimum safe firing distance. The frigate managed to veer off, rolling to the side and folding its wing like extensions while the torpedo ignited its thrusters and slammed into the platform, generating the more concentrated effect witnessed in the Tartarus Skirmish and tearing the station apart from the inside out.

This left the Alliance Fleet with a total of six HELIOS platforms out of the original twelve to provide fire support for the defence, and only two were close enough to help the _Shady Sands_ and her escorts as the Turian cruiser continued to harass them before a shot from the _Chairman Benny_ succeeded in striking it in its engines, effectively crippling the cruiser and leaving it to drift until the Turian crews succeeded in decelerating with secondary thrusters.

Despite having several successes and scoring upwards of twenty kills, mainly thanks to the _Chairman's_ plasma turrets, the Alliance Fleet was beginning to drop like flies. Frigates fell under either sheer numbers or superior fire power, the pair of cruisers only managed to affect the outcome so much by sniping Turian frigates with their own plasma cannons and the two Turian Dreadnoughts were now converging on the star fortress that was holding the orbital defence together, pounding at its shields with perfectly time shots to ensure that there would be barely two seconds for the station's barriers to recover.

Slowly the Alliance Fleet began to pull back, and the Turians began to surge forward and surround the _Chairman Benny_ even as it continued to blast at the invading fleet. The _Galius_ ended up taking a shot to its belly near the front and ceased firing due to its primary weapon being disabled, but several cruisers picked up the slack and assisted in bringing down the fortress' defences.

Xxx

 **BSF** _ **Chairman Benny**_

 **Command Centre**

"The defence line is collapsing," Thompson tried to coordinate the remaining ships as best he could, scoring another kill against a pair of alien frigates with the plasma turrets, "Get the _Gladiator_ to pull back, and have the _Shady Sands_ provide cover for them"

"Sir, the HELIOS defence grid is failing!" A Knight called out as the final defence platforms erupted with explosions and shattered in the distance, barely visible to the naked eye. "Enemy ships are converging on us, our fleet is being massacred!"

Deathstalker called out through the speakers, " _Elder, we cannot maintain the defence! We must withdraw!_ "

Thompson growled, seeing his options shrinking with every second. "Send the order for the fleet to withdraw. We'll cover their retreat. All escape pods and shuttles are to head planet side if they don't want to end up splattered across the side of some cruiser."

" _At once,_ " Deathstalker answered, " _Good luck, Elder._ "

"Ah don't get sappy, Death Claws aren't good at it." Thompson huffed, "And for the last time will you fucking kids get the hell off my station and go make yourselves useful on the ground?!"

"Not happening sir!"

"We're staying!"

Thompson groaned. "Damn it, just why did this particular generation have to be so stubborn?" He stumbled as the station shuddered, the barriers finally collapsing as the Turian Dreadnoughts finished wearing it down. "Final warning, clear out or we're all going to see if these aliens know the meaning of taking prisoners."

His command crew didn't even bother with responses this time, still operating the station's defences even as the Turians began to systematically blast them away with fighter swarms and precision mass accelerator rounds, slowly disarming the _Chairman_ as the remaining Alliance ships began to retreat.

The _Gladiator_ took a hit to its engines and resorted to launching its escape pods and shuttles just before the Turians managed to gut the dying ship with another barrage through its damaged side. Several of the frigates were too slow or damaged to escape and had to be evacuated if they survived long enough-one even elected to simply dive towards Shanxi only to be intercepted by a pair of Turian frigates, turning into a ball of fire as it plummeted down towards the surface, it's angle taking it a safe distance from the settled areas..

The _Sharon of Rose_ and _Shady Sands_ had managed to use the _Chairman's_ stalling tactic to escort the remaining six frigates to a safe distance, allowing them to jump away as the Turian fleet, now short almost twenty frigates and five cruisers by the time the _Chairman's_ guns fell silent moved in and surrounded the station and began to deploy boarding craft.

But to the Turians' credit: they didn't bother firing on escape pods. Sure, some may have been caught in the crossfire or smashed against a ship, but they'd had every chance to shoot down dozens of the escape pods streaming down from the station.

Trisun had made her order very explicit, as well as the consequence for failing to obey it.

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnought** _ **A'kalez**_

 **Command Centre**

"They've already lost," Trisun stated from the comfort and safety of the _A'kalez's_ command deck, "Let them see how reasonable we can be and allow them to join their kin on the surface, and then we will give them one more chance to do the intelligent thing."

"Yes ma'am, and General Arterius is preparing to deploy the _Galius'_ ground troops to establish a foothold. He also says that the _Galius_ is no longer combat capable and advises that we have it fall back to friendly space."

Trisun nodded. "Agreed. After the _Galius_ finishes deploying its invasion force have it execute a tactical withdrawal to the relay. Any other cruisers or frigates too damaged to continue may do the same. Frigates also have the option of joining the landing force ground side for repairs."

The loss of a Dreadnought would be unacceptable, and the needless destruction of several cruisers and frigates was little better. Even with the loss of twenty five ships and the withdrawal of another twelve-including the _Galius_ , Trisun still had enough fire power to invade and hold this world. The ground side campaign would be up to Desolas however; Trisun and her fleet had done their part for his little war, now he would have to do the dirty work.

"Admiral, we're seeing several enemy escape pods that appear to be too damaged to safely land below. What shall we do with them?"

Trisun leaned back in her seat. "It seems we have our first prisoners of war. Collect them and bring them in…and do not let General Arterius know about this. These are my prisoners to hold, not his to torture. Send Colonel Victus a private message encouraging him to keep me posted on their progress down on the surface, which means hourly transmissions directly to my Omni-Tool."

Xxx

 **Shanxi System**

 **Shanxi**

 **22 Kilometers west of New Taiyuan, The Great Northern Steppe**

 **Twelve minutes after failure of Shanxi Celestial Defence Line**

A ball of fire ploughed through a cloud cover, slowly levelling off as thrusters built into the hull of the escape pod brought the nose up, aiming to have the module land as gently as possible along the flat terrain. Down below, a native creature of Shanxi known as a 'Plain Burrower' poked its head out of its hole, its ears raising in response to the noise generated by the approaching pod. The creature looked around, turning towards the pod just in time before it passed overhead, missing the creature's home by twenty feet. Feeling the head of the pod as it passed, the Plain Burrower gave a frightened yelp and scrambled back down into the darkness and safety of its hole.

The pod dug a trench several hundred meters long into the ground, coming to a stop while igniting some grass shrubs in its proximity. After several minutes to allow the pod's exterior to cool a hatch opened up and a gloved hand gripped the side before a disheveled and sickly looking Owen Mason climbed out and tumbled to the ground, quickly scrambling out of the trench and up onto the grassy terrain.

"Meta Jesus, just remembered why I seriously did not want to take a pod!" He growled as several other Alliance crewmen climbed out, some more gracefully and others with about as much dignity as the Captain had shown.

"We landed safely," One of the marines replied with a shrug, checking his laser rifle after climbing out of the trench. "I'd call this a victory, however small sir."

Owen shook his head and stood up, taking a few deep breaths. "Considering our fleet just got its ass kicked I think I'll wait to sound any trumpets until our reinforcements arrive and turn the tables." He looked up at the cloudless sky overhead, spotting the trails of what were either more escape pods or debris from destroyed ships and orbital facilities that the aliens had blasted through during or after the battle. "And in the meantime we're in the open, so we'd better think about either finding a nearby vault or hoofing it all the way to New Taiyuan."

Turning towards the group he had managed to hitch a ride with, Owen found two Alliance marines who had been guarding the escape pod, a Brotherhood Knight clad in grey and blue version of Alliance infantry armour with the symbol of an engineer emblazoned on his right shoulder pauldron, a scribe in a black and red uniform and a woman wearing the uniform of an Alliance pilot bearing the markings of the Shanxi Colonial Vertibird Wing.

"Sergeant," Owen addressed the marine who had spoken to him, "Get a fix on our location while we still have any satellites to triangulate from. Find us any Alliance or Brotherhood property within range. The rest of you set up a perimeter and keep on watch. We'll take a while to catch our breath, but after we decide on where we're going we are not stopping until we get there."

Owen checked the plasma pistol issued to him by Elder Thompson, confirming that it was still in working order. Between the rest of the group they had two laser rifles from the marines along with their sidearms, a plasma SMG and pistol from the Knight (Brotherhood soldiers had more access to plasma weapons) and another plasma pistol from the Scribe. One of the marines handed their sidearm to the pilot, who thanked him and went about helping to set up some sensors around their landing site.

The Marine Sergeant, whose IFF Tag came up as ' **C. Scott** ' accessed Shanxi's global satellite network and found his options far more limited compared to how they had been before the alien fleet had arrived. Many satellites around the planet were offline already, and he expected the rest to quickly fall within the day. However one was passing close enough for him to get a lock on their position.

One problem that Sergeant Scott faced was that the system no longer displayed the exact locations of anything. As per the Desert Ranger Protocol all map data was erased to prevent the enemy from using it to easily find settlements they would otherwise have to look for with their own eyes or sensors, and more importantly to keep them from finding any vaults. Luckily each military grade Pip-Boy had a map of its own and a micro bomb to destroy all data storage hardware in the event of the owner dying, somebody trying to pry open or hack into the Pip-Boy or amputating the limb it was attached to. This second map showed the locations of permanent settlements and vaults, but lacked the ability to pinpoint the user's location.

Scott was able to compare his on board map to the nearly blank screen to find their location west of New Taiyuan.

"I've found us," Sergeant Scott announced, crouching and examining the computer he had hooked up to the escape pod's built in transmitter. "And I can see a few likely places within ten miles of here."

Owen climbed back into the pod and sat across from Sergeant Scott, holding out one hand. "Show me," He said, and accepted the small computer while Scott turned his arm over to show Owen their available options.

There were three vaults within ten miles of their crash site along with two settlements, but the latter would likely be abandoned and the former in the process of locking down. With his authorization code Owen could override one of the vaults and open the doors, but a part of him wanted to make for New Taiyuan to join in with the defence like Elder Thompson had told him to. But he had to think about these people with him, who may not be eager to rush off to a fight over twenty miles away when safety was much closer.

"Well, the way I see it we might not have any luck walking to the capital," Owen decided, "Unless anybody here is feeling patriotic enough to trek over twenty miles for a fight we're likely to miss the start of I think we should head for one of these vaults and-"

A sudden burst of static from the transmitter interrupted him. The two men could hear shouting and energy discharges reminiscent of a laser or plasma weapon. Owen signalled the Knight, pointing urgently to the transmitter as the combat engineer climbed into the pod with them. The Knight hooked his Pip-Boy up to the transmitter and cleared up the transmission.

"… _peat, request…ault 9. We are under…run and they are cutting through the blast doors. I am broadcasting this message on all Alliance frequencies on a loop._ " The calm but stressed voice of a woman broke through the interference. " _I repeat, this is Brotherhood Inquisitor Victoria Grey requesting reinforcements at Bunker Vault 9 in the western quadrant on the North Steppe. We are under attack by Manifest forces, our security force is overrun and they are cutting through the blast doors. I am broadcasting this message on all Alliance frequencies on a loop._ "

"Manifest? On Shanxi? Right in the middle of a fucking invasion they fucking caused?" Sergeant Scott seethed, having heard the reports behind the Tartarus System skirmish along with the rest of the rank and file troops once the civilians had been herded into vaults.

"This isn't playing from any of the civilian vaults, sir." The Knight reported, "I believe this may be one of the Brotherhood's own vaults. The Inquisition often sets up. Secret facilities to stockpile weapons and supplies, create hidden barracks or maintain hidden production facilities in the event of an invasion. If Manifest is attacking it then they must want something from it, and badly if they're willing to take on an entire compliment of Brotherhood soldiers."

Owen was more focused on the name of the speaker.

Victoria Grey, Inquisitor…

"Change of plans then," Owen stood up and climbed out of the pod. "I'm going to this Bunker Vault 9. If any of you don't wish to accompany me then Vault 15 is just four miles away. I'll transfer my authorization code to any of you so you can get in."

Scott climbed out after him. "Hold on, say what now? You're rushing towards a Manifest raid? Bearing in mind this means high tech and power armour clad infantry who took down a team of Brotherhood soldiers and every other defence the place threw at them. It's suicide on your own sir!"

"Doesn't matter." Owen shook his head, "Before this invasion began I was told that Inquisitor Victoria Grey is a VIP, high level, too valuable to lose. For whatever reason my own brother insisted that I get her as far from danger as possible, and I am not in the habit of breaking promises to family." He grabbed a ration pack and one of the medical kits, counting a full day's worth of food and half a dozen stim packs in addition to other medical supplies. "But you all aren't required to follow me, this is a volunteer only mission. You have every reason to get to one of those vaults and lay low until the fleet arrives."

"Wait," Scott insisted, grabbing Owen's shoulder. "Just wait a minute!"

Owen pulled free and gripped Scott's wrist. "Son, if you aren't either following me to that bunker or waddling your ass to a vault somewhere else this conversation stands only to piss me off." He growled.

Sergeant Scott tugged his arm back, his helmet hiding his expression. "I'm going with you," He said, speaking clearly to make sure Owen heard him and dispel the aggression being radiated by the officer. "If Manifest is after something there then that means I sure as hell don't want them to have it." Scott looked at the others. "The six of us won't make much of a difference against thousands of those aliens pouring into the capital, but maybe this bunker has something that we should be worried about."

The other marine shook his head. "What about the part where they just killed a whole lot of guys who are supposed to be able to take on twenty of me and walk away fine? We'd be slaughtered!"

"Power armour only takes you so far." Sergeant Scott insisted, gripping the Private's shoulder and shaking him a bit. "So you bite your tongue whenever you even think of pulling back just because the enemy is wearing a fancy suit! We all know how Manifest operates, and they wouldn't try to just hit a bunker in the middle of an invasion for maybe a few weapons or some extra gear. They only fish for big catches!"

The scribe nodded her head. "He's right. Manifest is up for stealing ships, new designs for technology, FEV to weaponize and things that could generally present a clear danger to the Alliance. If they're willing to pull a risky move like this then the pay off has to be big, or they at least think it's big. But it may also mean that they have a way off this planet, a stealth ship of some kind that could get around without being shot down by either side. It's how they always operate."

Stealth ships were a new concept, but not impossible to build. There were ships that could evade long range sensors and look like background data which wouldn't trigger an alert, but they would pop up on the more thorough short range sensors and be easily visible to the naked eye up close. Manifest could have potentially used one such ship if they planned to steal Brotherhood secrets and get away so they could put said secrets to use.

Owen, appreciating Scott's prioritizing and the scribe's rationalizing, stepped forward. "As I said before: this is volunteer only. You can still walk if you want, but I'm going to that bunker."

The other marine, **Private Z. Wright** , groaned. "…this is crazy." He shook his head. "This is fucking crazy…which is why I can't believe I'm going with you." He shouldered his supply pack and stepped forward.

The Scribe, a female ghoul whose IFF read ' **Junior Inquisitor 1st Tier J. Parker** ' grunted. "Quit your belly aching kid, save it for when you actually have something to bitch about."

"Don't need to ask me twice," The Knight, **Junior Knight E. Rice** , hefted his plasma repeater as he spoke eagerly, "My brothers and sisters are in danger and I won't turn tail to that! I managed to pinpoint the source of the transmission several miles west of here towards a valley."

And finally the pilot, **2nd Lieutenant D. Sutton** sighed and checked her borrowed energy pistol before answering, "Well, I'm not liking the idea of hiking to a vault all on my lonesome." She decided. "Guess I may as well tag along with you guys, go where the people with the big guns go and what not."

With their course decided, Owen cracked a smile and stepped past the group. "Well then let's not waste anymore time. Cmon folks, we've got some Manifest thugs with a death wish!"

As Owen walked away, Private Wright looked at Sergeant Scott. "He does know he's going the wrong way, right?"

"He doesn't have a map and compass built into a HUD like you and me," Scott rapped a knuckle against the side of Wright's helmet while walking in the opposite direction. "Give him a minute."

Several moments later the group could hear the distant shout across the grassy plains...

" _Son of a whore!_ "

Xxx

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing files…**

 **File opened: The Cloaked Talon**

 **A strategy devised by Admiral Varia Trisun to reduce the accuracy of an entrenched enemy fleet while moving her own fleet close enough to engage. Trisun had mainly implemented this against pirates and mercenary forces, but deduced that it could be used to neutralize the plasma based weaponry of the Alliance Navy. An analysis of the captured plasma cannons and combat footage from the Relay 314 incident showed that the plasma was contained in a magnetic field that dissipated over a certain distance, technically not making it a Direct Energy Weapon like a laser.**

 **As per standard procedure in enacting this plan Trisun had several modified Disruptor torpedoes loaded onto the frigates accompanying her fleet and had them erect 'The Cloak', a wall of violent and randomly generated mass effect fields spread out over a wider area and in close proximity to one another. The torpedoes were set to go off simultaneously upon one of their number detonating, ensuring that enemy fire would not trigger any early enough to leave gaps in the Cloak. The Alliance was not aware of this until long afterwards, having believed they had managed to successfully shoot down all of the torpedoes, which were fired from just beyond their maximum effective range to ensure that the Turians would be able to gain at least some ground before the Alliance detonated the barrage.**

 **This effect is reminiscent of the 'Area Warp' technique that some Biotics employ, widening the reach of their attack, and was set to maintain these fields for a longer period of time (less than a minute). The Cloak would weaken or nullify the magnetic field surrounding the plasma, weakening or cancelling the shots out completely and also serving to reduce targeting efficiency, as the Alliance Fleet relied on line of sight targeting like the average Citadel vessel and therefore found only a few of its shots managing to even graze their targets if they successfully passed through the Cloak intact. Lasers were found to be more reliable, but still suffered from a reduced accuracy.**

 **During this period the Turian Fleet moved into firing range with minimal damage and engaged the Alliance Fleet at medium range once the Cloak faded of its own accord. The frigates assigned to deploying the Cloak moved off to the flanks, rallying to form two of the three 'talons' (the third being the main body of the fleet directly attacking from the front) that would strike at the Alliance Fleet and defensive emplacements. Overwhelmed by the Turians' numbers, the Alliance Fleet was routed within an hour and forced to retreat while the BSF Chairman Benny was captured intact.**

 **Despite her involvement in the First Contact War, Varia Trisun was praised for this ingenious tactic. Some believe that it had been due to her humane treatment of prisoners of war and her subsequent clashing with General Desolas Arterius that the Alliance did not demand her extradition.**

 **Accessing Files…**

 **Opened file: BROTHERHOOD BUNKER VAULTS**

 **It is publicly known that the Brotherhood of Steel's Inquisitors often establish hidden bases on Alliance colonies or abandoned asteroids. Each is supposed to house production facilities for weapons, armour and even starships, to act as emergency factories/hidden bases/rally points in the event of an invasion of Alliance space. The locations of these bases are kept secret, but the populace is aware that they exist and some even make efforts to locate them only to meet with failure or simply vanish, supposedly having gotten too close. These Bunkers are manned by a skeleton crew and security staff to activate it should a world fall under siege.**

 **File closed**

 **Accessing files…**

 **File opened: Pip-Boy Military Model**

 **Military personnel are given a new version of a Pip-Boy designed to ensure they are able to acquire, transport and if necessary dispose of classified intelligence. Each Pip-Boy contains a micro bomb cable of destroying the internal hardware with minimal harm to the user, and has numerous applications which can be modified should the user wish it. Prothean computer technology has greatly enhanced the performance of Pip-Boy models, and allowed for them to be built in smaller, sleeker forms.**

 **File closed**

 **Accessing files…**

 **File opened: Question, WHY DIDN'T THE ALLIANCE PLACE MICRO BOMBS IN THEIR ENERGY WEAPONS TO PREVENT THE COUNCIL RACES FROM ACQUIRING THEM?**

 **Warning, file has been edited by unauthorized sources.**

 **The answer is simple you moron: because nobody wants to carry around a plasma rifle that could turn into a live plasma grenade or pony up the cash needed to outfit the entire Alliance military from the side arm of the lowliest soldier on the most distant outpost to the main guns on the whole Alliance Navy. We just don't have the technology to safely theft-proof weapons on such a scale, and it would be better spent focusing on the still incredibly rare Theta energy weapons (rare outside of Mars anyways), as last I recall a single Theta pistol has more punch in it than ten plasma rifles and only the real tough black ops squads get to use them anyways (again, outside of Mars), at least then you could justify the cost and the risk.**

 **You could even get away with doing it to the main guns on our ships since there are only a few hundred, but to EVERY SINGLE ENERGY FIREARM IN HUMAN SPACE? And again, there's a chance that you'd turn more than a few into grenades waiting to go off in the process.**

 **Money doesn't grow on trees. Scientists don't magically produce results on the first day. And the Alliance can't magically modify every single weapon in their arsenal to keep them out of enemy hands. That's just how life is so quit whining about it and just deal with it.**

 **File closed**

End of Chapter

Hm…I know I may just be pessimistic, but I still didn't like how this chapter turned out-then again I'm beginning to believe that I am simply paranoid in that way. I mostly just wanted the opening battle at Shanxi out of the way. I went back a few times to rework it even after I'd finished the whole battle and said 'okay this will have to do'. I just hope that this final product pleases my readers.

The Cloak was something I made up for this. It doesn't make it impossible to see or shoot at a target, it's just meant to screw with line of sight targeting long enough for a fleet to get in close. Disruptor Torpedoes are essentially a mechanical equivalent to a Biotic Warp attack on a larger scale, so I wondered if it would be possible to replicate the wider area effect that some Biotics can train themselves to achieve (just as they can with Throw, Lift, Slam, Shockwave, Singularity, etc). Maybe it isn't feasible, but this is called science fiction for a reason and I thought it would be an interesting concept.

And we have also introduced…five new characters who you likely will never become invested in. Maybe I'll do something with them, maybe not. I chose their names from my Fallout IOS App game.

I am more excited for the next few chapters, which will be divided between the battle for Shanxi and the events at this Bunker Vault.

As always I encourage you to point out inconsistencies, faults and mistakes I may have made, and again: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because if you didn't then I failed epically.


	5. Chapter 4: Fall of Shanxi Part 2

Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

And one final note: an anonymous review in the previous chapter was used for the purpose of simply saying 'fuck you' (and that is actually a direct quote stating the entirety of the review's contents) and has been removed. I won't tolerate reviews that don't offer a form of criticism, opinion, or reaction to this story. If you are typing up a review just to say a few hurtful words to somebody who you have never met and never shall meet then I won't even look twice at it. That being said, I will NOT erase anonymous reviews that point out flaws in my work.

If you see a number in parenthesis that means there is an intentional reference which I shall acknowledge.

And on a brighter note (adding this in days after the previous one), it appears that I have reached 100 followers for this story. This is the most attention that one of my stories has ever received! I'd like to just give a big Thank You to everybody who has tuned in for this story! Let's see if we can also get 100 Favourites for this too.

Xxx

Chapter Four: Fall of Shanxi, Part Two

 **Shanxi System, Shanxi**

 **New Taiyuan**

With the news that the fleet had been pushed back and the star fortress captured, the soldiers occupying New Taiyuan began to prepare for the ground invasion that would likely follow. Soldiers were forming defensive lines at every entrance to the city while others clustered in areas around the defensive emplacements that would be fighting off the coming alien aircraft. The perimeter turrets on Shanxi's outer walls were to act more as the obvious targets for attacks while the ones located further in would remain safely protected.

Squads of Alliance marines clad in black and brown armour were spread out through the districts, placing charges in anticipation of the enemy breaching the city. Others set up blockade points but left other more obvious routes open with the idea of herding enemy forces down a more convenient path which the defenders could pick them off on. Brotherhood soldiers in grey and blue variations of the marine armour were tending to their various mechanized units that had been transferred down from the _Chairman_ prior to the fleet engagement.

These were the modern variations of the hulking knights who had patrolled the wastelands a century ago. Their armour made them seem like giants, strong enough to punch through a wall, provided them with the ability to fight their way through a warzone single handed while carrying a metric ton of equipment and had some of humanity's best tactical AIs connected to them (all minor ones that barely had any sentience). These juggernauts could be seen moving in groups of six, scattered throughout the city to defend the defensive emplacements and ambush any hostiles who breached the perimeter.

Colonel Ashe Williams (1) was overlooking a holo-map of the city, examining the distribution of troops and assets. Between the available militia not assigned to protecting the vaults, volunteers ranging from soldiers on leave to mercenaries and private security operators and then the stragglers from the escape pods deployed from the disastrous orbital battle he had a little over forty two thousand available infantry and another five hundred armored infantry from the Brotherhood's power armor clad warriors. The colony had a standard compliment of several hundred armed vehicles, a few columns of tanks and even approximately three hundred Vertibird gunships.

Usually this was more than enough to ensure that a colony was safe from Manifest's attacks, but Ashe had never felt more vulnerable than this day.

"The vaults are reporting survivors from the fleet arriving at their doors," One of General William's aids informed him, squeezing through the throng of uniforms occupying Williams' command post at the New Taiyuan Community Hall. "They're asking for orders."

"Tell them to let them in," Williams answered while lighting a cigarette and plopped it between his teeth before flicking his lighter shut with a flick of his wrist, "The aliens haven't deployed any infantry yet, there's no risk of the vaults being compromised by a few extra hands."

The aid nodded and muttered a response as he walked away, relaying this decision to the proper people.

Williams walked to the nearest window and stared out at the glimmering city before him, taking in the view of the river that cleaved part of the community in twain and how it glittered in the sun. It was almost hard for him to believe that in the next few hours this place would be the sight of a terrible battle. He blew a puff of smoke before tapping his Pip-Boy and contacting a Major assigned to the Comm. Centre. "Do we have contact with Deathstalker yet?"

The armor clad Death Claw nodded, a low rumble escaping its snout. " _Yes sir, we are able to send and receive one way transmissions. He has eight ships, including the Cruiser Sharon of Rose and the Carrier Shady Sands hiding on the moons of Macau (2). They are affecting repairs with the help of the Processor Facilities located there, and are evacuating the personnel from the mines onto transports._ "

"Tell him to remain low, and don't take any risks." Williams ordered, "He's to wait until the reinforcements arrive and then rendezvous with them and provide all recorded tactical data. The fleet needs to know that these aliens have a counter to our energy weapons."

The Death Claw Major rested a fist against its fist and bowed its head. " _Yes sir, I shall inform him._ " His image faded, and Williams returned to staring at New Taiyuan and the vast form of the Brotherhood of Steel's Citadel.

"God help us when you bastards get off your pretty little ships and come down here," He muttered, staring at the sky overhead, "Wonder if you're as tough in person as you are from a few million miles away."

Xxx

 **Great Northern Steppe, bank of the Lu River**

"We're closing in on the source of the signal," Sergeant Scott called out from up ahead where he was on point for the rest of the group, which was travelling along the man made river that was used to provide water to the local farms. "I'd say maybe..." The marine glanced down at his Pip-Boy, which had deployed a small holo-panel to show the strength of the signal. "Less than half a mile by now."

"That's half a mile too far if you ask me." Owen grunted, feeling the blazing sun beating down on him. Summers on Shanxi were not the best time for wearing a full uniform; armour at least regulated body heat, but Owen had not woken up with the idea of being stuck out here in his regular uniform. He'd taken off his coat and ditched it a few miles back, cursing the fact that out of the entire group he was the only one who had not thought to change into something more protective before the invasion had started.

Scott chuckled, shaking his head, "Oh trust me Captain, it could be a lot worse."

"Boy if you jinx us I'm going to shoot you in the ass," Owen growled, not in the mood for the marine's 'sparkling' personality.

Fortunately Scott took the hint and clamped his mouth shut, focusing on the holo-screen. "Wait, wait...the signal is getting weaker now." He held up his other arm and formed a fist to signal for the group to stop before he took a few steps back. "Yeah...I think we're right over the signal now."

The six looked around, seeing only the slope leading down towards the river on their left and wide and flat plains on their right.

"..." Owen sighed. "Great, somehow Manifest didn't manage to leave a big fucking hole when they stormed this vault and now we have to do the searching."

A voice called out to them from down at the river. "I wouldn't count on that!"

The team spun, levelling their weapons at the source of the noise only to see a figure waving to them. It wore brown armour over a black hard-suit, the signature attire of an Alliance marine. His helmet was off, showing that he was human, and a rifle lay in the sand by his feet.

"Friendly!" The marine shouted as he saw them turn their sights on him, and wisely kept his hands where they could see them.

"Identify yourself!" Scott called out. "And walk towards us slowly."

The man sighed, but obeyed. He began to walk up the slope towards them while answering the command.

"Campbell, Nathan, Sergeant," He said, "Shanxi colonial marine garrison. I was on one of the regular patrol frigates in orbit before shit hit the fan. I went down in an escape pod, likely the same way you did. I heard the distress call from Inquisitor Grey and I came here to help."

"Let's verify that," Owen decided, stepping forward and holstering his plasma pistol, "Hold out your Pip arm, son." The younger man obeyed, and Owen extended his own Pip-Boy until it was parallel with Campbell's. Several cables extended between the two, and Owen ran a quick scan for credentials before overriding the security programming with his authentication code.

Owen took only a few moments to look over Campbell's profile before retracting his Pip-Boy. "He's legit, stand down." The men and women behind him lowered their weapons. "Sorry about that son, couldn't take any chances."

Campbell relaxed and grinned, "Just happy to be alive, sir."

Now Owen was aware of how Campbell towered over him by a full head. The young man was built like an ox: six and a half feet at the very least, broad shoulders, powerful arms, a square jaw framed by well trimmed facial hair (Colonial garrisons had discretion to be lax in certain protocols), closely cut blonde hair and blue eyes. He wasn't some super model, but he was the sort of man who would likely be put on a recruitment poster to display a positive image like any military dating back to the Pre-War US Armed Forces would do.

"You said something about how we might not have to do a whole lot of looking for that Vault entrance," Owen pointed out, "Care to elaborate on that?"

"Quite simple: I found it already," Campbell clarified as he turned back towards where his helmet and rifle rested by the water and beckoned for the group to follow him down. "The reason that Manifest didn't blow a hole in something was because they wanted to get into this vault without risking damage to it. There are several entrances, but this is the only one that is unlocked for personnel to come and go freely."

As he reached the edge of the river he turned to a large rock resting a few feet from the tide and kicked it over, revealing something embedded into the ground beneath it.

"This whole river is man made," Campbell explained as he knelt down and gripped what was revealed to be a handle. "I'm wagering that the Brotherhood oversaw that little project so they could build their bunker down there first, and then the river could be set over top to explain away the sudden need for digging equipment." He pulled on the handle and then rotated it clockwise by ninety degrees before releasing it, letting the handle retract into its hidden alcove. "And if I were to guess, this is how one would open it from the outside."

The ground began to rumble beneath their feet as a shape began to rise out of the water, extending some metal barriers to divert the river's flow to the far side while a stone ramp leading down to a deeper part of the river bed where the opening of a tunnel was located was revealed to them. It was wide and tall enough for a whole vehicle or over a dozen people to rush through at once, slanted down and protected by some metal doors which remained sealed against the tide until the water had been diverted. Now only some odd splashes and trickles of liquid managed to get onto the pathway before them, sloshing over the sides of the raised barriers. The water was deep enough that nobody would be able to spot the entrance from the surface, and nobody lived on this part of the river who might randomly dive in for a swim anyways.

"Well...that's one way to hide a Vault," Private Wright muttered before Lieutenant Sutton suddenly grabbed Campbell by the shoulder and spun the larger man around-likely more due to him not resisting than her own strength, as he looked like he weighed too much for someone to move unless they wore full sized power armour.

"Wait one damn second, how the hell do you happen to know about all of this?" Sutton demanded as she levelled her laser pistol at his chest. "You said this is the way the Enclave took to get in!"

"Uh...yeah, because I saw those two gentlemen making use of it before I killed them." Campbell calmly answered as he gestured off to his right...to a pair of armor clad corpses resting amidst a rocky outcropping, their blood draining into the river and being washed downstream.

Manifest armour resembled the old standard issue Enclave power armour, only it was less bulky to reflect how the terrorist organization had gladly made use of Prothean technology to streamline their own equipment. The two 'Neo Enclave' soldiers had been using heavy plasma casters, both of which lay near the corpses along with a collection of microfusion cells that were arranged in a neat pile.

"They were keeping guard up here, so I stayed out of sight further down the bank to keep from being spotted," Campbell gently forcing Sutton to lower her pistol as he told them of the events in question, "One of them started talking on his radio, said something to his partner about 'the target' being located and that their team needed support. They opened up the entrance, and I took the chance to hit them both with a few good hits from my rifle while they were distracted."

He then indicated several scorch marks on the ground further down the river bank which the team had missed. "They got off a few shots of their own, but I made sure to aim for their optics and I had the higher terrain, a better shooting posture and a more accurate weapon to boot. They went down after I used a whole energy clip on them, and then I shut the entrance and piled them off to the side. After that I decided to wait here for a while and either catch their pals by surprise with some of these," He opened a compartment on his armour to reveal plasma grenades, likely taken from the dead Manifest troopers, "Or if some friendly backup would arrive."

Campbell passed the grenade to Owen, adding with another grin, "And here you."

Owen tossed the grenade up and down once, looking for any holes in the story. Campbell's presence was strangely convenient, but he had no reason to doubt the man's word or the evidence. It wasn't like Manifest would even go as far as to kill a few of their own soldiers just to make a convincing cover story for one man, especially since there weren't any foreseeable benefits to such a convoluted and theoretical scheme.

Owen looked at Sutton and shook his head when he saw her realigning her aim. "Holster your gun, Lieutenant. We've got no reason to suspect foul play from Sergeant Campbell."

Sutton hesitantly complied, sliding the pistol into place on the magnetic clip on her belt.

After picking up Campbell's rifle and tossing it to him, Owen nodded to the marine. "Lead on, Sergeant. Wright, Scott, pick up those plasma casters. They'll come in handy for clearing any opposition ahead of us."

The two marines obeyed, grabbing as many microfusion cells as they could carry before following after the group down into the tunnel. After they passed the open doors Campbell grabbed a switch on the wall, causing the doors to slowly slide shut behind them, sealing them in and keeping the water out.

Several lights snapped on along the walls, illuminating the passage as it took them deeper beneath the surface of Shanxi. It ended at what appeared to be a large security checkpoint that was littered with the bodies of several Brotherhood soldiers scattered across the road and the flanking turret platforms along with the odd Manifest trooper. Behind this was a massive cog shaped door, looming overhead with the symbol of the Brotherhood of Steel's Inquisition (Intelligence Division) set over the grey number 9.

"Welcome to Vault Bunker Nine, children," Owen spoke aloud, "Now let's go about this carefully. Assume that Manifest has us outnumbered and outgunned enough that they were able to take this entire vault. We are going to be cautious, smart and most of all we are not going to get into any fights we can avoid."

He looked at Scott and Wright. "You two only use those big guns if we need them." Then Owen looked to the Brotherhood Knight, Rice. "That suit of yours has a stealth generator on it, right?"

Rice nodded, "Yeah, it's good to keep me cloaked for up to five minutes on a full charge, but it needs time to recharge after that...and it charges faster under solar energy."

"It'll do," Owen assured him with a nod before looking at Inquisitor Parker, "And you?"

"Never leave home without it," Parker rasped, "And I can guarantee mine will last longer, no offence Rice." She shrugged. "Inquisition just gets higher quality stealth gear. We're the ones who are supposed to do the sneaking in this Brotherhood."

Owen walked over to the exterior control panel for the Vault door, which appeared to have suffered from a high heat energy projectile-or at least that was Owen's best guess, seeing as the thing looked like a melted candle. "Well nobody will be doing any sneaking unless we can get this door open," He informed the group.

"Allow me, Captain." Rice stepped forward and pried the melted panel out of the wall to reveal the damaged circuitry within, and spoke as he began to sort through the half burnt mess, "If this was designed and built by the Brotherhood Inquisition then you can bet your ass that it'll have several redundancies that you just need to look for..." He extended a fibre-optic cable from his armour and fed it through the tangle of wires and circuitry. "Like practically laying it out for how to generate a signal to the door matching the one sent out when you pull the 'open/close' switch. Or at least they lay it out for anybody who knows their way around this stuff."

Rice reached through with one arm, sinking it in past the elbow and tearing away several wires. Grasping two sparking ends, one in each hand, Rice leaned in and pressed them against something. The door began to move backwards, sliding out of place as an alarm began to buzz and golden lights flashed.

"Shit! Kill the alarm!" Owen called out.

Rice shook his head and looked back at the Captain with a pale face, muttering shakily, "I-I can't! The alarms are wired inside of the door, not out here!"

And there went the element of surprise.

Xxx

 **Shanxi Orbit**

 **Turian Dreadnought** _ **A'kalez**_

 **Command Deck**

Admiral Varis Trisun watched as shuttles and fighters flew from the burnt wreck that had been the _Galius,_ which would be returning to Palaven immediately after it was done offloading its forces. Desolas was waiting to be the last one off, refusing to leave until all of his men were either deployed to the ground or relocated to other ships for proper medical care. While she held contempt for the upstart Trisun couldn't deny that he at least had an admirably attachment to those under his command-although they were only in peril now because the fool had pursued this conflict.

"Ma'am, friendly contacts approaching from the Relay," Her XO, Commander Rixar informed her in a soft tone. "It's the transport fleet."

Even with over a hundred ships still operational, Trisun and Desolas lacked the manpower to conquer and occupy an entire planet. Their dreadnoughts held a compliment of around five hundred soldiers each, their cruisers held less than two hundred a piece and their frigates barely had twenty as an on board compliment. Only a few thousand Turian soldiers, no matter how battle hardened would not be able to lay siege to the city below if the recon intel was to be believed.

That was why Trisun had, prior to the fleet moving out, petitioned Palaven for a fleet of transport ships to support the invasion. Unlike warships, civilian or non-combat vessels were not regulated based on size, and this allowed for the Hierarchy to make use of kilometer long transports capable of carrying thousands of Turian soldiers along with adequate supplies, vehicles and even fighter craft to cement their position over this alien world.

This fleet of forty transports also came with an escort of eight new cruisers, as per Trisun's explicit request.

"Have them form up around the station," Trisun decided, rising from her chair, "In the meantime I am going to pay our guests a new visit to see what I can find out. You have the deck Commander."

She departed the bridge and made her way to the boarding tube that linked her ship to the captured enemy battle station. Technicians were already all over the structure inside and out, scavenging for any useful materials or technology. As Trisun stepped onto the gun metal grey grating that made up the floor of the station she could see that it was a well rounded design with the specific aim of ensuring any defending force would maintain an advantage thanks to the narrow corridors, each air lock being located beneath a balcony that would provide a suitable sniper's perch, the numerous security bulk heads and energy fields that had to be disabled through trial and error and most of all the combat drones that had claimed the lives of almost fifty of her men before the station was fully secured and its few occupants taken into custody.

"Admiral on the deck!" A black armored Turian barked while snapping to attention in response to Trisun's arrival in the hangar that now served as a holding area for less than a hundred of the aliens.

"At ease," Trisun replied curtly to the salutes being sent her way. "Lieutenant Vakarian, give me a status update on the Translation Index."

The black armored Turian's visor receded from his face, showing blue markings on his grey tinted scales. "Ma'am, we have made some progress, but so far we only have several words figured out." He looked to where several of his men had the surviving defenders sitting in a group under watch and where two other Turians had one of the prisoners sitting in a chair. One Turian had his Omni-Tool open and was recording the findings of his partner, who was doing the hardest and most frustrating part of developing a working translation Index without the help of an Asari mind meld: their prisoners knew it as 'charades'.

"For the most part the captives are being mildly cooperative, with only a few refusing to acknowledge or respond to any queries." Vakarian continued. "We have managed to master basic commands and requests such as ordering them to sit, stand, where to move and are trying to initiate more complex dialogue. The furthest we've gotten is the name of their race."

To demonstrate, Vakarian walked over to the prisoner being interviewed and knelt down to their level. It was one of the Asari like specimens, the ones who did not look like they were suffering necrosis. She paled a bit at the close proximity, but relaxed when Vakarian raised one talon to his own chest and stated, "Turian."

The female hesitantly mimicked his movement. "H-human," She responded.

"Human?" Trisun tilted her head, and nodded. "Good, maybe I can find a pattern to lead us along the right path. Pardon me, Lieutenant." She had him step back. "Transmit all current translations to my Omni-Tool." It was done within three seconds, and she was able to see a list of words translated from Turian to Galactic Basic and finally to this strange language.

"Stand." The human seemed unnerved by how easily Trisun was suddenly able to speak her language, not comprehending the complex translation software enabling this exchange. "Follow."

Trisun guided the woman over to where a row of bodies were set. These souls had resisted to the very end and had to be put down to end the fighting, much to Trisun's regret.

Trisun pointed to herself while saying, "Turian."

Then she pointed to the human and added, "Human."

And finally she pointed to the corpse of one of the necrotic humanoids.

The human took the hint and answered, "Ghoul."

Trisun's Omni-Tool Translation Index automatically updated to include this new word. "Ghoul," The Turian Admiral repeated, and had the woman identify the other races recorded from the initial skirmish via projecting images of them from her Omni-Tool.

One was called Meta Human, and the other-the larger and fearsome reptilian specimen was identified as a Death Claw.

Nodding in approval at this new information, Trisun recorded it all before pointing back to the group of prisoners. "Return. Sit."

The woman obeyed, not willing or able to resist with over thirty Turian soldiers keeping an eye on her every move and the doors being blocked off by several more each. She sat back with the others, and Trisun noted how one of the other humans, a male variant perhaps, held her hand as she sat down.

"I think we're off to a good start," Trisun murmured, pleased with the results she'd produced in such a short period. "Now, let's see if we can't teach them a few Turian words and get this Index finished sooner. And fetch me Captain Pridius, I would like to have a...private conversation with him once I'm done here."

Xxx

 **Shanxi**

 **Forty miles east of New Taiyuan**

 **Turian Staging Ground Alpha**

Desolas looked over the encampment being established as thousands of Turian soldiers spilled out of a fleets of transports and gunships. Armored vehicles rolled out onto the fertile ground while large fortifications were erected, all centering on where Desolas had landed with his command staff in the middle of a series of hills and valleys. All around he could see landing pads being set up for air craft with fuelling stations to keep them topped up, turrets capable of punching holes through armour and intercepting a whole wave of missiles with upwards of ninety five percent targeting efficiency at their fastest response speed, squad leaders barking out orders as they directed their subordinates to their positions and best of all several entire frigates that had chosen to land and assist with the campaign once they finished repair procedures.

Approaching the General from behind was a Turian with white facial markings decorating his darker carapace. This Turian was clad in black and red armour like most of Desolas' command personnel, but he was far from Desolas' idea of a proper officer as one could get without being incompetent or outright insubordinate.

It was not that Desolas actually hated Colonel Adrien Victus for any personal reason. This was the first time he had even met the older Turian...but Victus' reputation had spoken whole volumes about the man over the years. He was unconventional, spat on years of military tradition to 'improvise' in situations, and acted less like a Turian warrior and more like he was pretending to be some Asari or Salarian who would try to talk the situation out or 'fight smart' by basically not fighting at all the way Desolas had over the years. The only reason why he had accepted Admiral Trisun's recommendation was because Victus had one feature that made up for all of his flaws: he always got results, regardless of how shameful the method may be.

For example, several years ago Victus had been dispatched in response to a pirate raid against a Turian colony. It had obviously been another sponsored attack by the Batarian Hegemony, but the lack of evidence prevented Desolas and many others from simply steam rolling through the borders of the slaver state and taking their people back. After locating the pirate base Victus had been ordered to follow the standard doctrine of not discriminating between combatants and civilians in the battle zone, but had instead personally led a team to infiltrate the base and, after disabling the defences and hacking into the mainframe to find incriminating evidence, had used a nerve gas the slavers preferred for keeping slaves docile to render every last person besides his time unconscious.

In the end Victus had managed to gain the Council the chance to extradite a Batarian official who had sponsored and funded the raid, gaining more than enough testimony from both the captured slavers and their computer banks. He had also saved many slaves who had been indoctrinated by their masters to the point that they had actually been set up on guard duty to keep watch on newly captured Turians...

Many praised Victus for it, but Desolas saw it as breaking from the traditions that had guided the Hierarchy for thousands of years. And what right did one insignificant officer have to suddenly decide that the methods of the Hierarchy were not acceptable? There were clear and rigid protocols for how to respond to a situation, and he had endangered his entire team and the rest of his task force all because he hadn't wanted to get the blood of a few brain washed slaves on his hands. Using a stealthy approach was acceptable, but going out of his way to do things far outside his mission parameters had needlessly put the entire mission and the Hierarchy's good reputation on the line.

"General, our forward outposts have been set up." Colonel Victus informed his superior, who he had only been attached to by the request of Admiral Trisun after his entire garrison was snatched up for this invasion.

Desolas turned to Victus and fought back the urge to scowl at the sight of the man, instead conducting himself with a neutral expression, hands folded behind his back and a level tone of voice being used. "Very good Colonel, keep me updated on any new developments regarding the..." He checked his Omni-Tool for the fresh data from Admiral Trisun, "Human city."

"Yes sir," Colonel Victus nodded, "And also sir...I was told that you were awaiting the arrival of a Ghost unit. I've been told that they arrived on a frigate minutes ago and are awaiting orders."

Desolas allowed himself to crack a smile at this news, and chuckled as he stepped past Victus and stepped towards the raised platform here his command staff were working at several holo-panels to coordinate the set up of the base camp. "Excellent!" He clapped his hands together once. "They were faster than I'd thought, give them my regards and tell them to assemble...here."

Desolas pointed out an area on a holo-map, indicating one of the forward observation posts closer to the city. "You will meet them there to brief them on how we shall proceed."

"Of course sir," Victus nodded stiffly, "And if I might sir...might I be permitted to know what the overall plan is for this occupation?"

"Simple and by the book, that is what." Desolas responded. "We will seize the enemy colony, occupy it, gain as many samples of their weapons technology as possible and then wait for further reinforcements to begin our push into further systems under their control."

Victus' eyes visibly narrowed ever so slightly, "Are we truly intending to acquire these people as a vassal race by force of arms?" He asked. "The Council would not approve of such harsh measures past occupying this world to set an example. We have already shown that our fleets are superior to their own, and any advantage they have in the area of weapons technology will soon be lost. Is it truly necessary to throw more Turians into the meat grinder when we could intimidate our enemy into a bloodless surrender across the rest of their territories?"

And this was why Desolas did not like Victus. No personal reasons, but the man thought his own methods were preferable to the ones that had led the Turian Hierarchy to being the mightiest power in the galaxy.

"Colonel," Desolas' voice grew firm and cold, "It is not your place to question our course of action. These people have butchered themselves through mutations and are clearly a reckless society dabbling in dangerous forms of science. Their very existence is an affront to the conventions that define the collective society of Council Space and I shall not allow a black and white view of morality to get in the way of neutralizing the threat they pose. You shall fall in line or I shall see to it that your military career becomes a good deal less pleasant following this campaign. Am I clear?"

Victus was barely restraining an aggressive retort by this point. Here he was being lectured like some child by a Turian several years his junior, some child who had come to a grand position through bloodshed and ruthlessness where he had worked hard to preserve the pride and soul of both his people and the galaxy. Every instinct in him told him to knock Desolas down, humble the overgrown brat and show him that his rank meant less than nothing in the face of experience!

...

But then the self control and cautious nature that had led to him being on the receiving end of a great deal of criticism from his peers kicked in, and Victus slowly exhaled while keeping a straight face.

"Yes sir." He responded, cursing himself inwardly for not bloodying Desolas' face then and there.

"Perfect," Desolas turned away from Victus. "General Oraka will be advising the forward outposts. Meet him there and coordinate your units to scout out the outlying defences until the Ghost unit arrives at your position."

Taking that as a signal of dismissal, Victus saluted stiffly and then walked away, hands clenched into fists. Once he was walking across soft grass and away from the chaotic heart of the Turian base campe Victus opened his Omni-Tool and patched into Admiral Trisun's personal frequency.

"Command: One way encrypted transmission." He said. "Message begins: Desolas is bringing in the Ghosts. Have been ordered to link up with Oraka at FOB to supervise and brief them. Will maintain regular updates." He kept his voice low so that his words were lost among the noise around him.

Nobody would suspect that even Colonel Victus would spy on a General on behalf of an Admiral.

Xxx

 **Vault Bunker 9**

 **Entrance Checkpoint**

After the door finished opening with enough noise to awaken a city the group advanced through with the armored trio of marines leading the way. Campbell raised one arm and gazed around the room beyond the door. It was like a loading dock, meant for vehicles to drop off supplies or personnel, but there was also a space for them to park off to the side where several ARVs were resting, all doors open and the seats empty. Campbell took notice of the positioning of several armored forms sprawled on the floor close to these vehicles and knelt, examining the area of their wounds and forming a scenario in his head...

Only for Owen to voice the very thing Campbell had been thinking.

"Well now we know how they got in." Owen said as he slapped the side of one of the ARVs. "They came in on Alliance vehicles to look like a supply shipment, waited until they were inside and then gunned down all the guards close by as they got out."

He raised one arm and aimed two fingers at the unmanned turrets resting atop the ARVs, and then slowly drew an invisible line leading from it to the slaughtered Brotherhood members. "They used the turret to take them by surprise, cut right through their armour in the first salvo." He turned his attention to the bodies located further from the vehicles, noting how they appeared to have been behind cover for the most part. "These ones here reacted faster and got behind cover, left a few marks on the ARVs here." He patted a scorch mark on the side of one of the vehicles. "But the turrets cut them down whenever they stepped out to take a shot."

There were a total of nine dead guards, and not one of them wore Enclave armour like the ones outside.

Sergeant Scott whistled to draw their attention to the control room located at the back of the loading dock, which had its window shattered and two more dead Knights inside. "And they must have also hit these guys before they could sound an alert. Eleven down in less than a minute I bet."

"It would have to be that fast if they managed to overwhelm the rest of the base," Owen agreed, "Nobody was warned, nobody was expecting it, nobody knew the enemy was inside until it was too late." He turned to Rice and questioned the Knight, "How large a compliment would a bunker have?"

"Well, the standard compliment is a dozen soldiers, six Knights for technical and combat support, and then three Inquisitors to manage the systems and administrate the facility." Rice answered. "There are nine soldiers and two knights here, most of the personnel assigned to this base. And if Manifest filled all four those ARVs to maximum capacity we're looking at possibly twenty or more hostiles, plus the rear guard outside."

"That leaves ten other possible survivors who are outnumbered two to one." Owen announced. "If Manifest isn't already aware of us then they soon will be. Let's get moving."

They made their way to the back of the loading docks and found a security door that had been blown open by explosives. The majority of the lights in the hallways on the first level were dim and blinking or just dead, and they could find evidence of firefights in more than a few.

By the time they cleared the entire first level and moved to the stairwell (the elevator was disabled) they found their first Manifest corpse. It was identifiable despite the standard grey armour of a Paladin, mainly by the large E surrounded by a circle of stars painted on the chest, possibly to allow the attackers to tell the difference between friend and foe.

"They must have used the stairwell as a choke point," Parker rasped, "But fell back when these fascists started tossing grenades down at them. There's a reason that they say to never fight an uphill battle."

"Wright, stay here and cover our six." Owen said to the Private. "If anything comes up those stairs you call out a challenge phrase: Dogmeat. If you don't hear the words 'good boy' from whoever is coming up you blast the hell out of them." He handed the marine the plasma grenade that Campbell had tossed to him earlier. "Use this if you don't want to risk being caught in the open."

Private Wright nodded. "Right, gotcha sir." He seemed more relieved that he was not going to be forced to travel deeper into the creepy and abandoned Vault.

Xxx

 **Bunker Vault Nine**

 **Level 3**

For almost twenty minutes the group pressed on through the second level, finding the charred bodies of two more Manifest soldiers, a Brotherhood Paladin, two Knights and two of the Inquisitors. For a brief period Owen had feared that one of them was Victoria Grey, but a quick look confirmed that both Inquisitors were male-not that their deaths weren't tragic along with the others who had died up above.

After clearing the second level, which contained rows and rows of supply storage rooms with the idea of having enough supplies to last for years, the group pressed on to the third level, which was supposed to contain research labs and medical facilities.

Sergeant Scott led the way, using his helmet's optics to pierce the dim lighting and relying on the heavy plasma caster to clear away any opposition. Campbell remained at the back, covering their six while Owen, Sutton, Rice and Parker remained between the two marines.

"Wait." Scott stopped, as did the line behind him as he reached a hall with a sign marked as 'Atrium'. "Did you guys hear that?"

Owen tilted his head to one side and leaned forward a bit, listening carefully. He could hear the echo of words far down the corridor. He looked back at the others and signed an order to them to remain quiet and moved past Scott, taking light steps while remaining half crouched and pressed close to the wall until he reached a pair of sliding doors that had been melted open by a barrage of energy weapons.

"...just do away with her."

"No, you heard the General, we keep her and the rest alive as incentive until we know for sure."

"Oh come on, like the bitch would ever live long enough to know anyways!"

"You grossly underestimate her, a common mistake to apply to her lineage."

Owen glanced around the edge of the door and saw several armored forms occupying the top floor of an atrium that the door led to. Down below he could spot several more figures, and just further down the corridor was a stair case that must have led to that level.

"She shouldn't even be alive." One of the Manifest soldiers growled. "Her entire bloodline deserves to be purged!"

"And it shall be," A second and much calmer man answered as the two walked across the catwalk overlooking two more Manifest troopers...who were surrounding two people clad in the grey and blue armour of Brotherhood Knights, their helmets removed and their hands shackled behind them. "But first she must show the General to our prize, then we can be rid of her. Have patience, brother, we shall deliver justice to her."

"Will you both keep it down up there?" One of the Manifest troopers on the lower level called out. "This isn't time for your personal drama, we're supposed to be watching the prisoners."

"You're right," The second soldier nodded as he leaned over the railing, "We apologize, my brother is just...very eager."

"We all want to watch her choke on her own organs," The other trooper on the lower level replied, "You don't see us throwing a fit about it just because it isn't happening immediately."

Owen had a rising suspicion that they were referring to Inquisitor Grey, unless one of the two unaccounted for Paladins had suddenly raised the ire of these men to the point that they were eager for blood beyond the usual level.

"Hold on, I'm getting a call in from the General." The more reasonable of the two soldiers on the upper level held a hand to his helmet. "Yes sir? Yes, they're still secure. We're holding position as instructed." Silence followed. "Yes sir, I understand."

He lowered his hand and looked down at the two soldiers below. "Things have gone to hell down there. Execute the prisoners."

One of the Knights let out a strangled sob as he watched the two Manifest soldiers move around behind him and his companion. At this point Owen broke from cover and rushed forward, fuelled by either anger at the casual decision to execute two men in cold blood or the desperation to save them.

The more fanatical Manifest soldier heard his footsteps and turned just in time to be slammed back against the railing. He gripped the metal with one hand and tried to shove Owen away with the other, but the Captain had already moved to the side and fired his plasma pistol at the second soldier. The first soldier moved to attack him, only to notice that one of the grenades fixed to his belt had been primed just before it went off, consuming the man in a flash of green light as his body was reduced to a pile of ooze. The second soldier scrambled back, his armour barely protecting him from the barrage while the third and fourth down below were distracted from their execution.

"What the-"

"Engage! Engage!"

But by this point Owen's companions had followed him into the room. Sergeant Scott fired his plasma caster at the soldier retreating across the catwalk, a large globule of plasma slamming into the man, overwhelming his barriers and burning through his armour as he howled in agony and toppled over the side of the catwalk. Rice and Sutton rushed to the edge of the balcony occupying one side of the upper floor and fired down at the other two soldiers, who scrambled for cover while the Knights got up and rushed for the stairwell door.

"Stop them!" One of the Manifest soldiers shouted to his companion, who fired a burst after the fleeing Knights and struck one of them in the back, sending him to the floor.

"FASCIST MOTHER FUCKERS!" An enraged shout escaped from Campbell as he vaulted over the railing and landed on the shooter's shoulders. The Manifest trooper was able to stay up thanks to his power armour augmenting his physical abilities, but he hadn't any time to formulate a counter to Campbell's assault before the marine jammed a combat knife down beneath the rim of the soldier's helmet and through the material of the hard suit beneath.

"You like shooting men in the back?!" Campbell seethed as the man lost balance and toppled to the floor, blood leaking from the stab wound in his throat. "Can't even give them the decency to look them in the eye?!"

"Campbell! Look out!" Owen shouted as the final Manifest soldier fired his plasma rifle and shot the marine in the chest, causing his armour to glow bright red around the point of impact and forcing the man to stumble back from the force of the impact. Luckily all of the Alliance soldiers still occupying the upper level were able to mow the man down, overwhelming his barriers and melting his armour to his skin as he fell to the floor without a sound.

Campbell gave a pained grunt as he lay sprawled on his back, winded but otherwise unharmed as he popped his armour's chest plating off. "Damn it." He muttered.

"What the hell kind of kamikaze stunt was that?" Owen demanded before he leapt down to the same level as Campbell. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

Campbell opened his mouth to give a retort, only to clamp it shut and exhaled through his nose. "...he shot that man in the back," He muttered, looking to the corpse of the Knight who had been killed while trying to escape. "He didn't have to, there was no reason to, the guy was still cuffed...but he did it anyways."

Owen hauled Campbell to his feet. "Campbell," He tried to get the man's attention. "Campbell!"

The younger man looked at Owen.

"I get it," Owen said clearly. "I know how you feel. That man didn't deserve to die, and these pigs didn't have any reason to kill him or anyone else here beyond wanting to do it just because they don't get to live their little perfect fantasy of ruling the whole fucking world. It is wrong, it is disgusting, but we can't let it drive us to do stupid shit when we see it in action. You are better than them, we are better than them, and do you know why?"

Owen relinquished his grip on Campbell's arms. "Because at the end of the day they are frightened, hateful little vermin who are not worth dying over. Now, you managed to avenge that one man, but if you died for that one little act of revenge you would be dishonoring his memory. So you keep living boy, and don't do anymore stupid shit like what I just saw a minute ago that could get you killed long before you get to be old and wrinkly as me."

He slapped Campbell on the shoulder. "You got that, soldier?"

Campbell nodded. "Yes...yes sir." He bowed his head in shame as the other Knight peeked his head into the room, seeing that the battle was over.

"Tha...thank you." The surviving knight was a dark haired woman. "I thought that I was really going to die." She looked down at her companion's body even as Owen stepped around behind her and unlocked her cuffs. "But they got Wells...damn it, he didn't deserve this."

"Few people rarely do." Owen replied sympathetically. "But I can count a little over a dozen people in this vault who are truly deserving of such a sudden and unexpected end to their otherwise wasted lives. Do you know where the rest of Manifest platoon is?"

The Knight nodded. "Yeah, they said that they were going down below to level 5. They took Inquisitor Grey with them along with Paladins Santos and Grawk."

"...Grawk?" Campbell repeated the name.

"He's a Night Kin," The Knight explained, "Smarter than he used to be, but he kept his 'mutant name'."

Now Owen knew where the other three remaining survivors were likely to be located, but his thoughts raced back to the mention of 'things going south' where a Manifest General was apparently located. It could be that the Manifest soldiers had caused an accident down below, or perhaps Grey and her companions had somehow broken free of their captors, triggering the sudden decision to execute the two Knights.

"We need to get down there," Owen said as the rest of the team regrouped around them, and faced the rescued Knight. "Ma'am, we can't ask you to come with us after what you've been through. If you head back up to the first level you'll find our rear guard up there." He picked up a fallen plasma rifle and deposited it in her hands. "When he calls out the phrase 'Dog Meat', reply with 'Good boy' or he _will_ open fire on you."

The Knight nodded, "Right, right!" She replied, "Alright, I can do that. First level. Dog Meat. Good boy." She recited. "Thank you so much, I can't say how much I owe you all for this."

As the Knight rushed back up the stairs Owen walked back over to the soldier who still had a knife sticking out of his throat. He crouched down and gripped the handle, tugging the weapon free. Owen turned and called out, "Hey Campbell, catch."

Campbell turned and caught the knife by the handle, making the act seem effortless and perfectly safe. He proceeded to wipe the blade clean of blood before sliding it back into its thigh mounted sheathe before looking back to Owen, giving the man a nod of appreciation. "Thanks, Cap."

"We have a specific destination now," Owen announced to the group. "Level Five, that's where we'll find the rest of the Manifest task force and the surviving Brotherhood personnel. Let's not waste time, find the stair well and let's get moving!"

Xxx

 **Bunker Vault 9**

 **Level 5**

Dozens of feet below where the Alliance team had just massacred several of his men, General Ian Mycroft stood in a control room overlooking a wide and nearly empty chamber below.

Mycroft had put himself through countless surgeries, hours of replacing or enhancing parts of his body down to the genetic level until over fifty percent of his body mass had been replaced by synthetic components. Nobody could tell at first glance, mainly due to the armour he wore to cover everything below the neck, but when one looked at his eyes and saw the glow they had, the eerie otherworldly aura he generated, it was easy to tell that the man was barely human anymore.

"General, sir," A Manifest trooper saluted after stepping into the room, "More news from the surface. The alien army has landed and is in position to move on New Taiyuan."

Ian chuckled humorlessly, "Of course it has. This is more proof of the incompetence and weakness that plagues the Alliance, and proof of the necessity behind our work here today, soldier." He beckoned for the man to walk over to the glass window separating them from the room outside. "Tell me, what limits would you be willing to go to in order to ensure that your grand children could be raised in a stable, safe environment free of the threats of mutants, of being mutated themselves or being invaded as this world is now?"

"Sir," The trooper stood at attention once again after relocating to Mycroft's side, "No price is too small to pay for the guaranteed future of the true human race. All necessary evils are a step towards our goal, and once it has been achieved history shall vindicate our actions, sir!"

Mycroft knew that the man had definitely been raised from birth among Manifest, otherwise he would not speak with such...conviction of the utter bull shit he had just spewed. Mycroft had ensured that those born into the ranks of his organization would be zealously loyal to the cause to a fault. It wouldn't do for them to start having thoughts contrary to the established norms of Manifest, as such things le to doubt and then to defiance and dissent. That could not be tolerated, and if it meant that a few thousand had to be turned into puppets with little sense of their own identity like the man standing next to him then Mycroft would gladly pay the price.

"Quite true," Mycroft nodded, smiling in a grandfatherly way as he patted the man on the shoulder, "That is why we are here, and why we are needed." He looked down at the object occupying the centre of the room, surrounded by several Manifest soldiers holding scanning equipment. "And that is why we shall make use of any resources available to see that dream become a reality."

The object was propped up on three legs that met at a disc shaped base. From this base rose a spire made of a rock like substance that glowed so brightly it was almost like a diamond reflecting light. Two more lengths of the substance reached up, twisting in a spiral pattern to meet atop the central spire of the device. The entire device radiated energy, and none dared to touch it for fear of what it might do.

All that they knew was what Mycroft needed them to know: this relic was alien in origin, and it would help to bring about mankind's ascension from some backwater species in a little corner of the galaxy to ruling over the very creatures who dared to set foot on human claimed soil.

And leading the charge would be Manifest, restoring the true human race and forming a great nation united under a single banner.

Of course Mycroft would not trust anyone else to fulfill his vision or lead that nation, but mortality proved to be such a pesky nuisance to the ambitious, hence the need for his many augmentations. But what this device...this monolith had to offer would put to shame any advancement or adaptation conducted by his race in its entire history, supposing that the Prothean Archives were accurate. (3)

"Prepare to relocate the monolith," Mycroft ordered, "...we have unwelcome guests looking to spoil our party. If you cannot locate the Inquisitor and her men, set off the charges and bury this place once we leave."

Xxx

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing files...**

 **File opened: VERTIBIRD**

 **Mk.I Vertibird: the model utilized by the Pre-War American government. Suitable for long distance atmospheric travel, retired after development of series.**

 **Vertibird: a model that was created with reverse engineered technology from both the Prothean cache and Prolat technology that could be incorporated into the design. Utilizes antigravity thrusters, capable of switching between VTOL mode and accelerating for atmospheric or orbital travel. Primarily used to deploy troops from ships for ground invasions.**

 **Vertibird: Updated version of the MkII, capable of short range travel between planets via Prothean based propulsion. First tested for travel between Earth and Mars, which lasted six hours. Primarily used by the Brotherhood of Steel and Special Forces for stealth approaches to target destinations.**

 **File closed**

 **Accessing files...**

 **File opened: Manifest**

 **Manifest is perhaps the sole surviving descendant of the Enclave and by extension the Pre-War American Government. It was formed from members of what is now known as New America back during the formation of the Alliance when President William Irons refused to pursue aggressive actions against the factions ruling what used to be the United States. These individuals were led by General Kenneth Mycroft, whose battalion had remained loyal to him and scattered into the northern frontiers of Canada among many safe houses and outposts, which remained hidden thanks to Intelligence agents choosing to side with Manifest. Ever since then the group has attempted to undermine the Alliance, with the state goals of eradicating all Ghouls, Meta Humans and Death Claws so that the 'true humanity' may reclaim Earth and take its rightful place in the cosmos. While lacking in resources, Manifest has been able to hijack Alliance shipments and sometimes entire warships in order to keep itself afloat, and maintains a sizable military force capable of contending with even the elite forces of any of the factions composing the Alliance.**

Xxx

REFERENCE LIST

(1) Reference to Ash Williams, protagonist of Sam Raimi's _The Evil Dead_ series.

(2) A provincial level special administrative region in China, one of two besides Hong Kong.

(3) For anybody who has read Mass Effect: Revolution (hint: I have not), I am referencing the plot of Desolas Arterius to use the Arca Monolith to convert the Turian race into a species of 'Meta Turians'. I have adapted this for my use and make no claim to it being an original idea of my own making, it simply wouldn't have fit with what I have in mind for this story with how it was in the canon storyline.


	6. Chapter 5: Fall of Shanxi Part 3

Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

For anybody who is concerned, the Fall of Shanxi will last at least several more chapters, after which there will be another arc called 'Shanxi Insurgency'. This chapter and the several afterwards shall focus on two separate plotlines:

1) The battle between Desolas Arterius' army and the defenders serving under Colonel Williams (Taking place five hours after the Turians make planet fall in this chapter)

2) The situation occurring in Vault Bunker 9 between Owen Mason's team and a Manifest task force (Taking place two hours earlier). I will avoid switching between both plotlines too much, since I know how confusing that can be.

Xxx

Chapter Five: Fall of Shanxi, Part Three, Manifest Conflict

 **Shanxi System, Shanxi**

 **Turian Staging Ground Alpha, approximately forty miles east of New Taiyuan**

 **Command Post**

 **Five hours after Turian landing**

General Arterius peered at the distant shapes of the city's taller buildings through a scope, spying at least several air craft travelling along the border. "It would seem they are quite entrenched." He mused, lowering the borrowed sniper rifle before he returned it to its owner and strode to the middle of the platform serving as his command post. "Let us remedy that."

He turned his attention to a semi circle of hologram images. To his left were General Oraka and Colonel Victus, and to his right were Admiral Trisun and Captain Pridius.

"Admiral, I have positioned several teams to begin infiltrating the defensive perimeter of the city." Desolas declared, "But first I think, in the spirit of adhering to protocol, I am to wait until after you have initiated a light bombardment of the perimeter. If these 'humans' are smart they will recognize how outgunned they are and lay down their arms."

" _I find this to be agreeable,_ " Trisun answered, " _I'll move my ships into low orbit so that they can initiate their bombing run._ "

Citadel Conventions forbade the use of orbital bombardment against a Garden class world by WMDs, ranging from the use of weaponized asteroids, nanotechnology, antimatter warheads or even biological life forms introduced to wipe out vital native species. The use of Dreadnoughts on the other hand was discouraged but not necessarily illegal, as it had the potential for great amounts of destruction but would not alter the state of the biosphere if only used for targeting specific strategic points. A single shot from Trisun's flagship would level the entire city, but the goal of this campaign was to subjugate this world, not annihilate its inhabitants. Even Desolas would not be able to wiggle his way out of a political shit storm if he needlessly destroyed a potential civilian population centre.

Trisun had positioned six frigates earlier in preparation of this phase of the invasion, and had taken the liberty of personally overseeing the simulations that the flotilla would be re-enacting. Each frigate was assigned to bombard an area of the city's perimeter, causing moderate damage to the outer defences and weakening the resolve of the defenders. They were under specific orders to make their bombardments as quickly as possible and pull back out of range of any ground side defences, which Trisun had insisted on identifying before considering this move.

Desolas may have lacked respect for the older officer, but he still knew when to appreciate her thoroughness and tactical ingenuity. Because of her the majority of his troops had reached this world alive and now had a powerful stranglehold over it that would take an armada to break.

"Perfect," He opened his Omni-Tool, "After the bombardment has subsided we will dispatch the new surrender package before moving on the city."

And while Trisun waited on a response to this package Desolas would deploy the newly arrived Ghost team to infiltrate the enemy settlement and position themselves to begin sabotaging the defences. If the humans surrendered then the Ghosts would make themselves known and ensure Desolas had a clear path to walk into the city unharmed. If they refused this offer then the Ghosts would make themselves known and still ensure that Desolas would be able to walk through the city gates by the end of the day.

" _You may be pleased to know that Captain Pridius has been of great assistance with developing a Translation Index,_ " Trisun informed Desolas, " _You might proclaim your victory speech in a rough form of Human tongue by the time you are finished._ "

Her enthusiasm was clearly layered with sarcasm and dry humour, but did little to deter Desolas' mood.

"With luck, yes," He drawled, looking pointedly at Trisun's image before he faced the distant city again. "You may begin at your convenience, Admiral."

And so Trisun did. She sent a single order to the frigate flotilla, which dove down on entry vectors that would split them up across many miles by the time they reached low altitude flight. They were vaguely visible to the countless Turian regiments watching, angling out as they broke through the cloud cover and flying a couple hundred feet over the ground, engines blazing bright blue as they generated a loud explosion of noise upon breaching the sound barrier.

One frigate passed close to the camp, so much so that Desolas would have been able to see the sigil of the Hierarchy emblazoned on the side if it had been moving slower. He immediately turned his attention to the holo-map, which showed six golden figures closing in on the city from different directions.

" _Weapons primed and barriers are online._ "

" _Marking visible emplacements for targeting._ "

" _Fire!_ "

The closest frigate unleashed a single shot with its mass accelerator, blasting a hole clear in the wall along the eastern section of the city. Turians viewing this through scopes and cameras let out a cheer before a light seemed to wash over the city, forming a dome that flashed several times in response to the attacks by the other five frigates.

" _Pull up! Pull up!_ "

" _Shot failed to connect!_ "

" _PULL UP-_ " One of the frigates struck the massive dome while it was still active and became a plume of fire and smoke that could be seen all the way from the staging ground even without electronic assistance.

" _Spirits...what is that?_ " Admiral Trisun whispered.

From where the Turian Army was entrenched it seemed as though the entire city was enveloped in a massive dome of blue energy that began to fade.

Desolas managed to find his voice after several moments of silence throughout the entire camp. "Bring the frigates back around for a second strike."

" _What purpose would that serve?_ " Colonel Victus asked.

" _It will allow us to properly scan that dome while it is active, for one._ " Admiral Trisun answered, her thoughts accurately aligned with Desolas' on the matter as she transferred orders to the frigates. " _Updating flight routes. They'll make higher passes over the dome to scan it up close and resume bombardment. Desolas, have your scouts record everything they can and let the VIs sort out the details._ "

The frigates turned about and began to make several more runs over the dome, which would reappear every time they tried to fire on the city now. It would flare up in the area where it had intercepted the incoming projectile and then vanish completely until triggered again. This went on for two full minutes but it did not seem as if the frigates were even straining it!

"General, FOB is transferring findings our way." One of Desolas' command staff announced, "The combat VIs state that the dome appears to be operating on the same principle as a Kinetic Barrier, sir. It projects repulsive mass effect fields and only activates and registers on scanners when responding to an incoming projectile, but the power level needed to operate something that large and sustain it...you could power a city ten times as big."

" _These humans are not as unrefined as we had believed._ " Captain Pridius noted, both impressed at the scale of the shield and intimidated that this race had accomplished what no Turian scientist had succeeded at doing in centuries: creating a shield large enough to protect an entire city from bombardment and sustain it past the first salvo. He could already picture scientists salivating over such a finding.

"No matter," Desolas said dismissively, "If that shield does operate on the same principle as a Kinetic Barrier then it can only intercept objects moving past a certain speed sufficient to trigger it."

He opened his Omni-Tool again. "And right now I think intimidating these humans into surrender is off the table until we can dispose of this obstacle."

" _Could we not just have our frigates approach at a decreased velocity to bypass this barrier's activation?_ " General Oraka inquired.

Trisun shook her head. " _And leave them vulnerable to enemy gun fire? I had them executing a lightning bombardment to minimize the chances of the defence turrets being able to lock onto them in time. We would lose more ships that way, and I doubt our fighters would do much better. An air attack is no longer an acceptable option._ "

As Desolas received a silent response from the recipient of his message he closed the Omni-Tool and faced his officers. "Return to your regular duties and allow me to handle this matter. I will inform you when this shield array has been dealt with."

" _How do you intend to do that?_ " Captain Pridius asked.

"Quite simple, Captain," Desolas allowed a ghost of a smile to cross his face, "I'm going to break it from the inside out."

Xxx

 **New Taiyuan**

 **Brotherhood of Steel Citadel**

 **Command Centre**

 **Five hours after Turian landing**

"The Shell is holding!" A Knight cried out, and the room filled with cheers from the rest of the men and women gathered around a holo-map of the city, which showed the Shell repeatedly withstanding bombardments from the alien ships.

"Well damn," Colonel Williams muttered, standing near the room's entrance with his body guards and watching the light show taking place in the middle of the room, "Looks like that thing really was worth the ass load of money we had to blow on it." He glanced around the room, trying to find the de facto leader of the Brotherhood of Steel's Shanxi Chapter who could help him to coordinate the armoured warriors more effectively while Elder Thompson remained MIA.

"Debris from the enemy ship has crashed down on the eastern river bank," One of the Brotherhood Knights announced, "No casualties, minimal structural damage to several buildings, moderate damage to the waterfront where the main hull of the vessel crashed down."

Williams pulled one of his guards aside and whispered to the man, "I want a platoon to secure that crash site and a Hazmat unit to sort through it. Get me bodies, get me tech and get me some idea of what our new interstellar neighbours look like. Make sure they watch for anything being washed downstream too!" He sent the man off.

"Colonel!" A voice called out over the crowd, and a large figure began to lumber towards Ashe, whose jaw dropped, causing his cigarette to plummet to the floor.

"Fuck...me." Williams murmured as a massive Meta Human clad from the neck down in Brotherhood of Steel armour and cloth approached. Its limbs were thick as tree trunks, its skin was a coppery colour and it had metal plates embedded directly into its skull, including a synthetic optical implant shaped like a scope of sorts.

"Sentinel Noland!" The Meta Human declared in its rough, scratchy voice while banging the base of its hammer against the floor, striking a salute. "Reporting for duty!"

A Sentinel! That was the rank separating Inquisitors and Paladins from becoming the next Elder!

"A-at ease." Williams managed to say.

Noland relaxed his posture. "Apologies for not meeting with you sooner, Colonel," The Meta Human said, "I was busy going through all of the armouries in the sub levels around the time that Elder Thompson was confirmed captured."

"Wait, hold on." Ashe held up one hand. "He's been captured? Not killed?"

"Affirmative," Noland nodded, "I have an uplink to the network implanted right into my brain!" He rapped one set of knuckles against his noggin. "An AI is still operating secretly on the _Chairman,_ and it says that Thompson is still alive but is being held captive! Anybody who didn't get off fast enough is still up there."

It was a relief to know that Thompson was at least still alive. This left the possibility of rescuing him open despite how unlikely it appeared to be.

"Sorry to say the news doesn't stay good!" Noland growled out. "The aliens have more ships coming through every hour. It's mainly just small ones, but they brought a whole lot of big ones through to land that army watching us from the hills!"

And there was the answer to the question that had been plaguing Colonel Williams ever since he saw the fleet of landing ships landing out of range of their guns. The aliens wouldn't have had enough room to carry the tens of thousands of soldiers that were now swarming through the thankfully now uninhabited forest region close to New Taiyuan, not with a fleet mainly formed by frigate sized ships. They must have held back their fleet transports until they had finished securing the planet; a wise move to ensure that they could use their naval assets to their fullest without risking the needless loss of entire battalions' worth of soldiers.

"Then our situation is worse than I had feared," Williams said, walking to the holo-table showing the terrain. "The aliens could probably breach the Shell if they tried hard enough. Those missiles they employed against the defence fleet could do some major damage, but I bet some of their stronger guns could just as easily do the job." He lit a new cigarette, not caring for any ugly expressions sent his way. "That tells me one thing: they want this city, and they want it intact as reasonably possible, and more than likely they want prisoners."

After pocketing his lighter, Ashe pointed to the edge of the city where the initial bombardment had successfully landed. "We were too slow to activate the Shell in time to catch this one, but the rest of the projectiles from the first bombing run they made were also aimed at the perimeter. They weren't looking to blast us into the dark ages, just to hit our defences."

"Probably so they could march right into the city." Noland huffed as he set his long hammer over one shoulder and watched the sea of red that represented the alien encampment. "I say we hit them while they're still in the open!"

Williams couldn't argue with that, it was what he had in mind from the moment he realized that the alien army was numbering at almost sixty thousand. Between that and the fleet of a hundred some ships in orbit with likely more on the way it would be prudent to remove their foothold on Shanxi before they could really dig in.

"Agreed," Ashe declared, "But if we're going to be doing this, we have to make sure to maximize the amount of damage to the enemy landing force and minimize our losses in the process. These aliens can afford to replace their troops from the looks of things, and we can't afford unnecessary casualties before the actual battle itself." He faced the now silent mix of Brotherhood members and marines. "As you are well aware this is a farming colony with only the standard military garrison and armaments required by Alliance Law, however I am hopeful that our good friends in the Brotherhood of Steel might be able to churn out something that would allow me to dispatch teams to infiltrate the enemy camp."

Paladin Noland grinned, showing crooked and jagged teeth. "Oh, we can do that, we can." He chuckled. "I think I know just the person to send."

"Fetch them for me and have them report to my command post," Williams ordered, "Time is of the essence, and I need this soldier deployed by nightfall."

"Of course sir! However...he is no soldier." Noland confessed. "But he's a friend."

"Mercenary?"

Noland nodded.

Williams sighed. "Meaning he'll want payment."

Noland nodded once again.

"...get him over here and I'll see if I can find a check book." Williams decided, "But he better be worth the god damn credits."

Xxx

 **Bunker Vault Nine**

 **Level 5**

 **Three hours after Turian landing**

"Why does this place not look similar to the other four levels in any ways whatsoever?" Sergeant Scott asked. "I mean is it just me or did they hire somebody else for this floor?"

The change in design was obvious from the moment the team had stepped through the doors leading down to the deepest level of the bunker. The previous four had been designed after the classic Vault Tec interior designs with some alterations made for the sake of efficiency or changes in trends of design. The fifth level of the bunker however was something entirely different.

The walls and floor were made of some lightly blue tinted metal, and every sharp corner and angle had been changed into rounded tips and curving walls. The doors were all circular and seemed to split apart into many segments which sank into the walls. There were no computer panels next to the doors, located at security checkpoints or in any of the rooms, instead there were hologram interfaces similar to what could be found in most military installations...only the entire floor appeared to have been outfitted based on Prothean designs.

"I know the Brotherhood has unlimited access to the Prothean data cache on Mars, but I've never seen it being incorporated to this extent." Knight Rice whispered, stopping to examine the open door of a room containing rows of what looked like the newer trimmed down Brotherhood Power Armour, only modified to pretty much fit perfectly over the average sized human without having thicker plates over vital areas. Even Rice's armour still had sections that were bulkier to allow for power sources, extra ammo and supplies, but he doubted that he could hide a paper clip on these suits with the lack of obvious storage spaces.

Owen glanced through windows into rooms containing laboratories, barracks, lunch rooms, armouries...and every inch of the facility looked like it had been designed by a whole different race. The case was often the same on Mars where the Prolat were given free reign to design their own architecture, clothing and vehicles. It was similar enough to the standard Alliance counterpart to be recognizable, but clearly made by the hands of someone who had not been raised in a culture that had remained locked in the mid 20th century. The ideas that had been applied to the creation of this level must have been taken directly from the Prothean archives with some modifications.

"Doesn't matter if this place had Protheans, Prolat or god damn bug people designing it." He said to break the topic of conversation. "What matters is that down here there are Manifest soldiers who have killed our allies and will kill even more if we allow them to escape...and more importantly they have a General with them, which means they sure as hell aren't walking out of here."

He faced the team. "Alright, expect heavy resistance down here. We got lucky with the troopers back upstairs, and this time we're expecting three times as many at the very least if their entire force was squeezed into those ARVs in the garage. Parker and Rice, this is your turf so you're best qualified suggest a course of action."

The Ghoul Inquisitor huffed and crossed her arms. "Don't get your hopes up, smoothskins. This whole level looks fundamentally different from any sort of interior design I've seen the Brotherhood use since I joined up, and I guarantee that was before any of you were born."

"But they wouldn't have changed certain design trends," Owen insisted, shaking his head. "The Brotherhood may be a para-military order but it's got military tradition embedded into it all the way back to its founding. This place might look different but I bet the computers are compatible with our Pip-Boys, the sensors recognize us as allies and-"

Rice suddenly broke in, "And the security office would have a compliment of Mk X Securitrons!"

At first this would have seemed like a reason to celebrate, but Owen realized that the Knight was staring past him and down the corridor with a wide eyed expression...

Oh fuck.

Owen spun around and set eyes on a series of figures which had uncloaked behind him. Each was about six feet tall and had the build of the average Alliance marine, had a standard laser rifle attached to their backs and more hidden onboard weapons. Their outer shells were made to look like the armour worn by both Alliance marines and Brotherhood warriors outside of the heavy infantry, but with a dark blue tint and the emblem of the Brotherhood on their chassis.

" **Unauthorized presence discovered,** " One of the Mk X Securitron robots stated while pulling its rifle from its back, displaying a flexibility that could fool someone into thinking it was a human wearing the armour if they didn't know better. As the laser rifle unfolded to its full length the rest of the squad of six mimicked their designated squad leader unit. " **Enacting appropriate response.** "

"DOWN!" Owen bellowed, throwing himself to the side immediately and taking shelter within the alcove of a sealed door's frame as red energy lanced down the hall, forcing the team into cover.

"Fucking hacked!" Parker growled, positioned across the hall from Owen. "Well, looks like we ain't dealing with your usual Manifest grunts; these ones must have the brains that God gave a fucking turnip!" She leaned out from cover and fired several shots, managing to clip one of the robots on the shoulder pauldron and then scorch its chest plate before she ducked back into cover.

Rice peeked out from cover briefly. "I think I can hack them," He proposed while opening his Pip-Boy. "Just cover me for a minute!"

Next to the Knight, Lieutenant Sutton blind fired her laser pistol twice, accidentally landing a glancing hit against the same robot hit by Parker. "Make it half a minute." She ordered before firing three more times.

The Securitron-X models advanced, taking cover or even moving to avoid some shots as their tactical matrixes adapted to the situation quickly. By the time Sergeant Scott managed to burn a hole through the chest plate of one of them the rest had started advancing under cover fire from their fellows, moving in perfect formation. One of them employed an arm mounted shield large enough to cover its entire body when held in a defensive position, and used this to both draw the team's fire and cover its comrades as they slowly began to close the distance between the two groups.

"Is it me, or are we running out of room a little too quickly?!" Campbell called out as he tried to overwhelm the shield, but his plasma bolts were next to useless against the polycrystalline-composite material that composed the barrier. In the place of less than efficient kinetic barriers the Alliance and Brotherhood had explored and perfected many ways to defend against gunfire-and it was seriously biting them in the ass right now! (1)

Owen peeked out and quickly examined the shield for weaknesses as its wielder knelt down and allowed two of its allies to take cover behind it, firing out bursts from the sides as the shield scraped across the metal floor hard enough to create sparks. It lacked a slit that would have made a perfect target, and in its place were several sensors facing outwards that fed visual data to the robot carrying it. Two of them had been melted already, but seven more were still perfectly functional.

"Rice, new plan!" Owen called out. "Can you sync up our Pip-Boys to share targeting information?"

Rice glanced up from the green tinted holo-screen projected from his Pip-Boy and shouted. "What would that get us?!"

"I need you to set up a synced V.A.T.S barrage, that's what it'll get us!" Owen answered before part of the alcove was melted clean through a few inches from his head. "Hurry it up!"

Rice worked quickly, establishing a link to all six of the team members' individual Pip-Boys.

"Okay," The Knight breathed, "Just give the command!"

"NOW!" Owen barked, leaping from cover with the rest following...and the world slowed down to a crawl as their assisted targeting systems locked onto the shield.

Each shot had over sixty percent chance of hitting from ten feet away while each person was in motion and basically firing without taking the time to aim on their own. They all had two good shots to make, and Rice managed to arrange their coordinated salvo so that each person would fire at two different sensors.

Plasma and laser fire flew, their vectors set automatically by the targeting system physically guiding the shooters' arms. The sensors sparked as they were fried and melted within the span of a second, and by the time it was over each team member had moved to the opposite side of the hall and back into cover, breathless and shaking.

"Wow..." Sutton whispered. "We really did it." She looked at Rice. "Remind me to kiss you later, would you?"

The robots' advance paused. The shield bearer was now blind, forcing its tactical matrix to re-evaluate its options while its comrades continued to lay down suppressing fire. This moment of indecision was all that Owen needed. He pointed to both Campbell and Scott before forming his hand into a fist, raising it up and then lowering his arm; Owen pointed to the sides flanking the shield bearer and the two Securitrons it was protecting.

Both marines nodded and pulled one grenade from their belts, primed them at once and then rolled them eight feet down the hall to where they exploded on either side of the trio, reducing the Securitrons to mangled and twisted metal pieces and sparking wires. The other two further back instantly began to retreat, laying down cover fire for one another as they backpedalled down the corridor.

"Don't let them get away!" Owen shouted, and managed to score a hit to the chest plate of one Securitron in the process of moving back, followed by three more hits before it finally collapsed. Overwhelming fire quickly took down the final Securitron before it could escape, but not before it could send out a request for reinforcements.

"Well shit...now our element of surprise really did just go out the window." Campbell sighed as he stepped out into the corridor again.

Owen slid a fresh clip into his rifle. "We can't waste anymore time then. Rice, Parker, could you two override whatever Manifest did to get the Securitrons under their control?"

"Give me a few minutes in the security office and we'll see." Parker responded and tugged Rice along by the arm. "Come on boy, I need the extra hands!"

Sutton smirked and called out to the retreating pair while cupping a hand to her mouth. "Don't forget what I said, Rice!"

"What are we going to be doing?" Sergeant Scott asked as he reloaded his plasma caster. "This thing has enough ammo to last us a few short fire fights, and it'll dry up quickly if we run into more of those shield droids."

"You won't have to worry about that because we're leaving it behind." Owen asserted, reassuming his no nonsense disposition and fixing the team with a stern stare. "We won't last ten minutes if we keep running into Securitron patrols, and Rice and Parker will take too long to disable them before Manifest has a chance to pull something on us. We're going to move quickly and quietly, stop only to identify patrol patterns and then move past when we have an opening."

Owen slid his rifle onto his back and secured it with its strap. "Time is of the essence, Inquisitor Grey and her surviving Paladins might not have a lot of it."

Xxx

"Clear," Inquisitor Parker grunted, leading the way with her side arm while Rice covered their rear. "How many of those things do you think this place holds?"

"Uh-probably thirty," Rice replied, gripping his plasma repeater tightly. "All combat models, and the rest will know about what we did to their friends."

They would already be fully updated with information on the team. Their numbers, armaments, strategies...the next engagement would be much harder, which made it important that the Securitrons be shut down fast.

Parker exhaled as they reached the next door. "Perfect," She muttered, and opened the door only to come face to face with a pair of the Securitron X models.

"Oh fucking perfect!" The Inquisitor shouted, firing her pistol at close range into one of the robots only to be grabbed by her arm and slammed against the side of the corridor.

Rice took several steps back and fumbled with his repeater. The second robot lunged forward and slammed into the Knight, knocking him to the floor and gripping his throat. It began to squeeze, its mechanical fingers slowly constraining Rice's wind pipe despite his armour and hard suit even while he struggled to dislodge the automaton.

Parker grappled with her own opponent, trying to keep it from repeating the same treatment against her. She quickly cycled through a list of options in her head and settled on one that as both risky but also highly likely to actually damage this thing enough to shut it down in one hit...

The ghoul released one of the metal arms, allowing a hand to close around her neck and begin to slam her back into the wall even as she reached over and tapped into her Pip-Boy. As the Securitron began to lift her off her feet Parker's right hand began to squeeze its secondary arm...and actually bend the plating enough for it to take notice.

Parker smirked and said in a strained voice, "Surprise, soup can!" She then released the Securitron's arm and clenched her hand into a fist, which split apart to reveal mechanical components beneath that shredded the sleeve of her robe and formed into a device which looked like a clenched fist resting on a sort of mechanical battering ram.

A moment later the implanted Power Fist struck, driving into and through the Securitron's chassis and shredding through the circuitry beneath; several tubes stuck out of Parker's forearm, emitting a yellow glow as she pulled her arm back. The synthetic warrior flailed and fell back while the Power Fist retracted only to strike again, this time hitting it across the face with more force than the human body was capable of safely exerting on its own; this time she shattered several plates and sent others flying off, and the yellow tubes on Parker's arm turned orange. After a third strike a warning was sounded from Parker's Pip-Boy to indicate that the quick and successive strikes were overheating the weapon, but luckily this time she had punched the thing's head clean from its shoulders and sent it rolling down the corridor, freeing the Inquisitor. The tubes on her arm were now glowing a dangerous red as steam escaped from several ports in an effort to reduce the mechanical arm's inner temperature.

Rice in the meantime was beginning to black out, one of his wrists pinned to the floor while the other futilely gripped the hand choking the life out of him. Just as his vision began to turn dark the robot was ripped away from him and thrown against the wall much in a similar way to how Parker had been manhandled, only when she struck again she rammed her elbow into the neck section of the Securitron-a weak spot. The result was every component in the targeted area being crushed into scrap, and the Securitron went limp as the command module in its skull ceased to send directions to its extremities.

Parker dropped the metal paper weight to the ground and huffed. "Fucking overhyped tin cans," She looked at Rice, who was rubbing his throat and coughing. "You alright there, kid?"

"Y-yeah," Rice coughed, sitting up now. "You have an-an implant?"

Parker flexed her arm as it finished venting heat. Mechanisms began to fold back up until the limb seamlessly sealed itself into the shape of a basic human arm. "A Power Fist augmentation," She responded with a nod, "Got it when I became an Inquisitor on account of losing an arm in the field. Ghouls are capable of being augmented like you smoothskins despite the popular belief, and the Brotherhood wrote the book on modern combat augmentations."

She bent down and offered Rice a hand, which he accepted and wheezed as he was pulled to his feet. "I won't complain."

"How far is the security office?" Parker asked, grabbing her sidearm from where she had dropped it.

Rice checked his Pip-Boy and pointed ahead, still doubled over a bit while trying to take a full breath. "Just up ahead," He said in a strained voice, little better than a whisper. "But we'll have company soon, the rest might know what we're up to."

Parker rolled her eyes. "These things are that fucking adaptive?"

"The designers wanted them to consider all plausible tactical options, and what we're doing now counts as one." Rice defended, and began to walk with some assistance from the Inquisitor until he was able to stand back up on his own and his muscles relaxed. The door to the security office lay before them, a pair of melted turrets sticking out of the ceiling on either side of it-compliments of Manifest most likely. "Just cover me while I open this thing."

"In that case I'm borrowing this," Parker replied as she snatched Rice's repeater away from him along with a microfusion clip from his belt; she slid the clip in and heard the weapon charge up just in time to also detect metal footsteps clanking down the corridor towards them.

Parker knelt and aimed down the corridor back the way they had come from. "Make it fast! And this time don't tell me you need a ruttin' minute!" She commanded the Knight as he pried open the access panel next to the door.

Xxx

On the far side of the level Ian Mycroft watched as his men moved the monolith, which rested on a floating metal platform towards a set of doors on the far end of the room. The Manifest Commander & Chief rubbed his hands together, anticipating the success that this would represent.

"Sir, the _Endurance_ is reporting that it remains undetected by the alien fleet and is awaiting our signal to evacuate." The soldier accompanying Ian informed him.

"Good," Ian turned and strode out of the room, "Set the charges and have them set to go off after we've left. Let us bury this place and any who would interfere with the true destiny of our people."

"At once, sir." The soldier nodded and split off from Ian, who was making his way to the base's control room, the Brotherhood's version of an Overseer's office.

General Mycroft hummed a pleasant tune as he sauntered through the energy scorched corridors and ducked through a hole which he had personally burned through the command centre security doors. The room was not the basic circular design that the Alliance favored, but was instead arranged un a U shape with a long platform from which the commander worked overlooking rows of consoles and projection tables on both sides. His destination was the command console resting on the very tip of the platform at the commander's seat.

"Engage QEC, one way transmission." Mycroft commanded as he leaned back in the chair, one leg crossed over the other in a relaxed pose, "Message begins: have retrieved artifact code named Ark, securing for transport to Houston Base. Stand by to receive _Endurance_ and lay some bread crumbs to keep the Alliance from following them home. Message ends."

The screen lit up with a green tinted message informing Mycroft that the transmission had been successfully broadcasted many light years away to a Manifest base nestled in a territory not yet touched by the Alliance. The QEC ensured that the Alliance would not be able to intercept this message, much less become aware of its existence in the first place; more importantly it wouldn't be noticed by the aliens either.

" **Message received, response dispatched.** " The computer announced, " **Message begins: Acknowledged. Houston Station is prepared to receive Ark, proper containment facilities have been established and personnel reassigned to accommodate. Have checked sources inside Alliance command structure; no leaks, location secure. Council of Joint Chiefs has authorized full activation of Project Nietzsche. (2)** "

Mycroft couldn't help but clap his hands together and grin while whispering to himself, "Excellent, excellent!"

Suddenly he became aware of several figures standing in the open doorway, weapons levelled at him.

"Message begins," Ian continued, pretending not to notice the newcomers. "Houston, we have a problem. Message ends."

"Oh great, a comedian," Sutton drawled as she advanced into the room alongside Campbell, Scott and Mason. "I want to see those hands moving away from the console or both are turning to slag."

Ian raised his hands and smiled as he leaned back in his seat. "Oh I'm sure if you gave me the chance you'd see these hands do what they do best."

Sutton grimaced. "Great, he's _that_ kind of funny guy."

"Heaven forbid! I was actually referring to using them to mangle the life out of someone..." Ian's eyes settled on Mason, and his smile fell. "And if it wasn't for obvious reasons you'd be seeing them in action right now."

Owen narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his rifle. "Ian Mycroft," He breathed, "The head of the snake himself, this is almost too good to be true."

"And you are the spawn of a man who has singlehandedly set back progress and the restoration of a perfect nation by decades, possibly centuries." Ian replied with barely restrained contempt in his words. "Rest assured Mason: with your presence here the feeling is mutual. When I'd heard that it was you who drew these aliens to Shanxi I honestly couldn't say that I was surprised. After all, you Masons have a habit of starting things you have no business in."

"Save the self righteous rambling." Owen deadpanned and waved Campbell and Scott forward. "Disable his armour functions and restrain him."

Ian didn't resist as the two marines set about removing his weapons and then systematically targeting and disabling his armour's hidden weapons. Even as they cuffed his hands behind his back he only kept his stare fixed on Owen.

Only after they had the Manifest General secured did Owen allow himself to relax. "What are you doing here? What's in this bunker that you want so badly?"

"Something that will correct the damage that your father and Alice Shepard did," Ian replied. "Right now the human race is suffering from a cancer, and what I have done here today is the first step to cutting it away one piece at a time."

Sutton holstered her gun and accessed the console. "He cut the link," She said after slamming one fist down against the computer, "I can't trace where he sent it to."

"If he was using the QEC then we should be able to find out in short order," Owen replied, breaking away from Mycroft's piercing gaze and looking at the pilot. "But...that wouldn't make sense. The relay in this base would connect to one in a Brotherhood or Alliance base...unless he wasn't using it at all."

"But how? We heard him activate it before we came in." Scott jabbed Mycroft with the tip of his rifle for emphasis.

"Yes, but..." Owen thought it over for a moment, running one hand through his matted hair before it came to him, and he pointed out in response, "Isn't is possible to wirelessy hook up to one from a distance? Transmit the data through it?"

"Yeah but most relays are hardwired just to take direct input since a wireless transmission is something that could be picked up." Sutton nodded, "But I've seen it done before when the situation calls for it, also seen it being done on a frigate."

"And what better way for a General to waltz into and out of enemy territory than with one such frigate?" Owen asked, glancing between his companions. "I'll tell you: a stealth frigate."

"Quite astute of you," Mycroft shrugged his shoulders. "Of course this all just adds up to you being back to square one. For all your faults your bloodline is, historically speaking, annoyingly efficient."

In hindsight Owen should have realized that without even needing a moment to think it over. Using a QEC relay was both an incredible advantage and a colossal risk to a group attempting to remain secret. They came in pairs, allowing for instantaneous communication across light years. Other forms of FTL communications existed, but required a transmission buoy and left room for hackers to intercept signals; the QEC couldn't be intercepted, but if you had one of the paired relays you could track the other one to the most distant star at the edge of the galaxy and deduce its exact location without the other party being able to do anything short of destroying the other relay to stop you.

Mycroft may have had his quirks, but he was the leading military commander of Manifest for a reason. He wouldn't make an amateur move by using an enemy QEC to try and send a confidential message, least of all with the intent of sending it somewhere other than its paired relay located where the information would be viewed openly. The short range signal might pose a risk to the idea of secrecy, but with all the chaos going on from the alien invasion there wouldn't be Brotherhood Knights focusing on intercepting unauthorized transmissions way out in the countryside.

"We can deal with it later," Owen decided, "For now we have the head honcho of Manifest's military divisions at our mercy."

"If you really believe that my captivity changes the outcome of what is to occur, you are more delusional than your father." Mycroft quipped, seeming far too relaxed for a man in bindings and with two guns pointed at his head. "My fate is insignificant in the-"

"Oh shut him up already!" Owen snapped, prompting Campbell to strike Ian across the face with the butt of his rifle hard enough to drive the General to his knees. "Thank you Sergeant, I could seriously do without anymore of his 'charming' dialogue."

"My pleasure, sir," Campbell responded, aiming his rifle at Mycroft's head as the older man wiped some blood from his lips and slowly rotated his head to gaze up at his attacker, his glowing eyes making the marine shudder and fight the urge to step back.

"Alright, now we need to locate the rest of his forces." Owen walked up to the command console. "Sutton?"

"Already have them." Sutton pulled up several floating holo-screens showing the armoured Manifest personnel and the route they were on. "They're moving towards an emergency exit: a tunnel that leads miles away from here to a series of natural caverns. If they get there they'll have a dozen different exits to take and a million places to hide from the aliens and us until their ship picks them up."

"Then that's where we're heading." Owen announced, "Campbell, I want you to stay here and guard Mycroft."

"Sir, is it really a good idea to split the team up any further?" Campbell asked.

"We can't risk him escaping and we can't let his troops get away either." Owen responded. "Once Rice and Parker disable the security droids you can come follow us, but try to contact Inquisitor Grey while you're here."

Campbell nodded. "Yes sir." He switched to his side arm and kept it locked on Mycroft with one hand while using the other to tap commands into the main console, making sure to keep Mycroft at more than an arm's distance but also close enough to quickly spot any movement from the cuffed General. "Just try not to take too long, this guy's already giving me the evil eye."

Campbell paused on one of the security footage screens and zoomed in on the object being moved by the Manifest troopers. It was a tall, spiralling object which was glowing with energy and planted on a mobile platform to move it with its escorts maintaining formation around it.

"Just what the hell did you people come here for?" He demanded, glaring over at Mycroft, whose smile returned.

"I think I'll refrain from spoiling the surprise." The General responded with a wink. "Just know that it changes everything, son."

Xxx

End of Chapter

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing files...**

 **File opened: Ian Mycroft**

 **The sole heir of Manifest's founder and original leader Kenneth Mycroft, Ian was groomed from a young age to take over from his father before Manifest had even been formed. Upon Kenneth's death his son (at 27 years of age) immediately took control of Manifest without any resistance from its council of 'Joint Chiefs', and has since authorized or taken part in numerous hit and run actions against Alliance military assets and civilian population centres. Recent sightings have verified that Mycroft has undergone extensive cybernetic augmentation unlike anything dating back to the days of the Great War. The full extension of these augmentations remain a mystery, but Ian Mycroft is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous to the point that even Meta Humans and Death Claws are advised to avoid facing him alone.**

 **Ian is most famous for being the first human child to be born into the ranks of Manifest, and for the capture of an Alliance cruiser, renamed the** _ **Promised Rebirth**_ **which now serves as his flagship. He also has ensured that Manifest is able to keep up with the Alliance on the scale of technology and weapons.**

 **File closed**

 **Accessing files...**

 **File opened: Sergeant Nathan Campbell**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **What the hell do you mean 'Redacted?!'**

(1) The shield was directly taken from the Cerberus Guardian unit in Mass Effect 3.

(2) Frederick Nietzsche, creator of the concept of Ubermensch (Overman, Superman, Beyondman, etc), describing it as a goal to be attained by humanity. The species Nietzscheans in the sci-fi television series _Andromeda_ were inspired by the philosophies of Nietzsche, Social Darwinism and Dawkinsian genetic competiveness and created as genetically enhanced super humans who value survival, strength and ensuring the continuation of one's genetic legacy through conceiving an heir. The Nazis used the term Ubermensch to describe their idea of a genetically superior master race (the Aryans).


	7. Chapter 6: Fall of Shanxi Part 4

The Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

I'd like to ask something of my reviewers: if you feel that there is any way that I could improve your experience with this story, be it by changing the way I describe battles, the pacing of the story or any certain small details that you feel I could leave out or add. I implore you to put this in the open and in the next chapter I shall respond at the bottom to each individual questions/statement/request/suggestion/etc. Because if I can make this story better for you at all then I need to know, as you've all made this my most viewed/favored story ever made and I owe a debt to every last one of you to improve in any area where I am lacking so that your experience in reading this can likewise be enhanced.

Xxx

Chapter Six: Fall of Shanxi, Part Four, The Turian Espionage

 **Turian Dreadnought** _ **A'kalez**_

 **Detention Area**

 **Six hours after Turian landing**

"Between those taken from the station, the salvaged escape pods and any individuals in pressurized suits we have just under two hundred prisoners, Admiral." Captain Pridius informed Trisun as the two strode past a pair of at-attention guards and into a corridor lined with cells blocked off by barriers to contain the prisoners. There were around a dozen to each room, and any not in the cell block were being given medical treatment by a team of very cautious Turian doctors who were adjusting to new physiologies on the fly at this very moment.

Trisun paused to glance into one of the cells, causing one of the occupants to furiously kick the barrier and shout at her.

"And the Translation Index?" She inquired without reacting to the prisoner's show of aggression.

"We're still working on it, but we are beginning to form some small sentences." Kravos answered. "We've moved onto the stage where we identify certain objects in our own dialect and have a prisoner repeat the word in their own. It would appear that some of them have caught onto our intent, though not all of them are proving to be cooperative. At this point we still can't form a complete sentence longer than two or three words."

"Keep me informed on your progress, but make sure to include as few as possible in your work." She said, maintaining a relaxed saunter. "Colonel Victus is keeping us apprised of the situation on the ground, but he can't keep an eye on Desolas from the FOB. I don't want Arterius to ruin this process by grabbing up my prisoners."

"What would he hope to gain by torturing prisoners who can barely comprehend our demands?" Kravos asked, disturbed by how apparently ruthless the Turian General could be.

"Oh I'm not afraid of him torturing them," Trisun replied while reaching the end of the cell block, "I'm worried that we would have a repeat of the Siege of Pheldi II."

"Pheldi II?"

Trisun realized that the younger officer may not have been informed of that particular event and cursed her lack of caution. She took a breath and stopped for a moment, quickly considering how to break this to Kravos. After several moments she pulled him aside into one of the escape pod bays.

"VI, command override: neutralize security measures within range of my position for approximately three sensor cycles." Trisun said, activating her Omni-Tool to provide her personal override code.

" **Authorization verified, beginning surveillance blackout.** "

Trisun faced Kravos, planting her hands on his shoulders and staring him in the eyes intensely.

"The following conversation never happened." Trisun spoke clearly, emphasizing the word 'never'. "Pheldi II is a border world, primarily devoted to providing raw materials for construction of ships and weapons. Several years ago there was an organized insurrection that overran the planet's security force and cut all communications in and out of the system after securing control of the local relay. General Arterius was deployed with a fleet to reclaim control of the planet, and he managed this within a single month, all the while abiding by the doctrine of how our people conduct rebel suppressions...except for one incident."

Trisun released Kravos' shoulders and stepped away, stopping by a view port showing the shapes of Turian ships hanging as still as images on a picture frame in the void outside.

"In the final week of his campaign, Desolas managed to corner the majority of the rebel forces and box them in to their final controlled city," She continued without turning away from the peaceful image before her, "By this time he had taken thousands of prisoners: soldiers, engineers, even sympathetic civilians and family. He had them focused in a concentration camp, but for the most part conditions there had been reasonable with minimal deaths and incidents. But then he delivered a statement to the rebel forces holding the city after attempting to besiege it for three days without rest. Desolas had thousands of prisoners marched out into the open after he'd acquired all the knowledge he believed he would get from any who had anything to offer."

Trisun turned, allowing Kravos to see the haunted expression in her eyes. "Desolas declared that there would be no mercy to enemies of the Hierarchy, that he would adhere to the principles of the Turian war doctrine...including the non-discrimination between active hostiles and civilians in a battle zone." She informed him.

"He had the civilians gunned down," Kravos whispered, already deducing where this entire conversation had been heading.

"Yes," Trisun answered with a nod, "He had them marched out, families and all, and had them killed by a company exclusively loyal to him. This provoked the rebels into reacting aggressively, deploying their remaining armour and air assets to attempt to cover several escaping civilians only for Desolas to have them intercepted by ground based mass accelerator emplacements. The rebel position was left significantly weakened and stretched thin, and an infiltration team managed to use this as an opportunity to spend a few more hours blowing new holes in the defences until Desolas was able to breach the perimeter twelve hours following the massacre. He took the city before noon the next day and secured control of Pheldi II two days after that."

Now Kravos appreciated why Trisun held such animosity for the star General. Despite many following Turian doctrine they still avoided certain extremes such as the massacre of civilians if they could help it. But Desolas so far had shown a complete lack of regard for the lives of Turians, using their deaths as justification to throw soldiers more into battle against a species that he cared even less for.

Suddenly the young Captain found himself agreeing with Trisun's decision to keep the prisoners secret.

"How did they manage to keep this quiet?" Kravos asked after several moments of silence.

"Killed most who were involved for one, and by that I mean massacring any rebel survivors," Trisun replied with a shrug, "Desolas had kept the majority of his forces far back in cover, and ensured that only battalions with commanders sympathizing with his methods were placed on the front lines."

The Admiral checked the time on her Omni-Tool, but did not stop. "By the time any honest soldiers were stomping over the cold bodies of those civilians the city had been blown wide open and there was just a huge rush to flood in and overwhelm every last block. Fleet officers such as I were given access to the details regarding this travesty, however I am personally aware of these events because I had been deployed with the next wave of reinforcements to purge the final holdouts."

She looked back up from her Omni-Tool. "Desolas Arterius is a cold and well oiled machine that has no concept of morality or honour on the battlefield, only on getting results by any means that will have his blood thirst overshadowed by his effectiveness."

" **Surveillance blackout expired.** " The VI's synthesized voice chimed from the nearby intercom.

Trisun opened the door. "Remember what I've told you," She said as she stepped out into the hallway, "And don't become anything like him."

Xxx

 **New Taiyuan, Brotherhood of Steel Citadel**

 **Seven hours after Turian landing**

Colonel Williams had his meeting with Sentinel Noland's recommended specialist after one final sweep of the city perimeter. The meta-human directed him to a meeting room which was unoccupied, save for a single individual seated at a round table. They looked over their shoulder as Williams entered, allowing him to see the glow of a red visor beneath a hood before they looked across the table again, arms crossed and their body slouched in their chair.

"I assume you are the one who Sentinel Noland has vouched for." Ashe said as he walked to the far side of the table and sat down, grinding the tip of his cigarette into an ash tray before introducing himself. "Colonel Williams, Shanxi Defence Force. And you would be...?"

" _A merc._ "

Ashe tilted his head a bit and tried again, "A merc named...?"

" _Irrelevant._ " The mercenary grunted as they leaned forward and removed their hood, revealing that their face was covered by a mask taken directly from an NCR Veteran Ranger's uniform and modified with some more up to date technology to make it fit around their head without the use of a bulkier helmet to cover the top. The rest of their armour was an amalgamation of components taken from the old legendary attire of the New California's Republic most elite warriors such as the iconic trench coat fit over ablative ceramic armour plating and a an inner layer of fabric armour.

" _Noland said you need someone to infiltrate the enemy camp._ " The mercenary continued, " _My team is suited for this job, given the right payment._ "

Ashe nodded, deciding that it would be more productive to just get to business and trust Noland. "Given how small my list of options is I'll simply have to take your word for this," He said before sliding a rectangular metal card across the table towards the masked mercenary. "Noland forwarded me your price. That card contains half of the promised payment, the second half will come after your assignment is completed."

He should have been mad that this man was demanding money in the face of an alien invasion, but at the same time Ashe knew that he couldn't afford to be picky. This was a way for him to possibly inflict some damage against the enemy and extend the time that New Taiyuan had before it fell, and every second gained until the arrival of the relief fleet would count for something. If this cocky son of a bitch and his team died in the process then Williams wouldn't shed any tears, and if they succeeded they could keep their money and choke on it for all he cared as long as his family back on Earth was kept safe for a while longer.

" _Just tell me the extent of what you want me to inflict on our unwelcome guests and then make sure that the second half is ready by the time we are finished._ " The mercenary said as he watched the credits transfer to his account.

"The aliens are bringing a large amount of armoured vehicles and air craft down to their base camp," Williams explained. "Those are your target. Vehicles, air ships, fuel depots. Without these they won't have the fire power to mount an effective siege of New Taiyuan unless or until they receive reinforcements. We can provide you with demolition charges and any information we have regarding their technology based on what we've taken from the crash site of one of their frigates."

" _Transfer it all to our ship at the star port._ " The mercenary grunted as he got out of his seat. " _We'll move out within the hour. You can expect us back by morning._ "

"What, just like that?" Williams asked, rising to follow.

" _Time is of the essence,_ " The mercenary grunted, opening the door, " _The more time they have to prepare an assault, the less time we'll have to ruin it for them and the less likely I am to get paid. So you just sit back and wait for the fireworks._ "

Xxx

 **New Taiyuan**

 **Outskirts**

 **Ten hours after Turian landing**

Rain had started to trickle down and pelt the ground as the sun faded beyond the horizon, shrouded by the spreading dark clouds that had rushed in to darken the region. The perimeter walls had all gone dark, but soldiers continued to survey the surrounding countryside through advanced sensors and patrolled the walls and the area below.

New Taiyuan was not entirely confined behind the security of its perimeter wall. A collection of shacks, warehouses and factories had been built along the edges closer to the coast to process scavenged food and resources. They were owned by private corporations rather than the Alliance and had been emptied out the moment that the call to evacuate to the vaults went out. Now these ghettos were patrolled only to keep any of the alien invaders from using them as cover to get close to the perimeter wall from the shoreline.

A smart move, but a team of twelve Turian Ghosts had managed to slip past Alliance marines and sensors without any trouble. They had moved out far to sea before being dropped into the ocean and had used propulsion devices large enough to drag four Turians each to clear the distance to the coast and navigate most of the distance separating that area from the city wall via the river. One mile out from the wall they had ditched the transports and swam the rest of their way on their own, assisted by the propulsion packs built into their armoured suits. Their species by its nature was not an aquatic one, and many Turians preferred to avoid anything to do with submerging themselves in water, but there were always exceptions in the name of accomplishing any mission that the Hierarchy was confronted with.

After clambering up onto the rocks followed by crawling through mud and debris and then pushing against the current trying to drag them back out towards the sea the Turians had to traverse several hundred meters of shoreline and avoid the sights of hovering drones, human soldiers and fixed sensor relays. These were easy enough to overcome or outright avoid without setting off alarms, and the Ghosts managed to slide down into a large ditch used for dumping garbage by the base of the perimeter wall.

Each Turian wore a pitch black suit of armour, lacking any of the usual lights or markings one might find on the average soldier. Their weapons were folded up and safely attached to different areas of their armour, save for their side arms which were equipped with suppressors to muffle any noise they produced. One unique piece of their arsenal was an arm mounted collapsible blade about as wide as one of their digits and able to extend up to a foot past their wrists, ending in a monomolecular edge that could slice through most forms of infantry armour and bypass any kinetic barrier.

Ghost Leader, their mission commander, was leading the way through knee deep sludge pouring from pipes built in the wall, none of them large enough for the Turians to make use of. They had spent the better part of an hour probing the perimeter for any weaknesses, but only found that the human patrols were always dropped and lifted back out through some sort of VTOL airship. There was a large gate that appeared to be connected to the ragged collection of structures by a main road that was quickly washing away as the downpour strengthened, but it had no means of offering the Ghosts entry to the city.

After settling down to pause and consider their options, Ghost Leader felt one of his subordinates (Ghost Three) tap his shoulder and sign a message to him, indicating an area of the wall off to the side of the larger gate. There was a circular door on either side of the gate marked with human symbols, and one had opened up to allow some sort of vehicle to roll out, suspended several over the unstable terrain by large wheels. The Turians watched without making a single move, pressed to the muddy slope several dozen meters away as the vehicle lumbered past their hiding spot.

Ghost Leader waited until the vehicle had vanished into the ghetto before signing orders to his men. The squadron was split into three teams of four, the first of which was commanded by him, the second by Ghost Two and the third by Ghost Three. Ghost Leader had Two take his team closer to investigate the entrance, which he realized had remained almost perfectly blended with the perimeter wall due to the surrounding darkness and the rain splattering against the Ghosts' visors. Once they knew where to look they didn't take their eyes off of it for fear of having to start over and wait until the door opened once again.

Four Turians took up flanking positions on either side of the door, remaining hidden amidst the muck to hide them from the naked eye and cloaked in protective sensor disrupting fields to keep them hidden from electronic detection-and seeing as they had made it this far they were obliged to believe these countermeasures sufficed. Two assigned one of his men to remain further back and watch for the vehicle's return while the other two kept their rifles fixed on the door from different angles.

Back with the rest of the squad, Ghost Leader had Three lead his team (Ghosts Ten, Eleven and Twelve) towards the nearest structures to keep an eye out for any other patrols in the side passages between the buildings. The four Turians engaged their thruster packs, shooting into the air while the roar of the rain and the rumbling of thunder practically drowned out any noise they generated. Each landed on a different roof top and remained crouched while switching to their rifles.

Two moved in towards the large door and examined it closely, but kept his stealth field up after he identified two different surveillance devices near the top corners of the door frame. Upon closer examination the cloaked Ghost found a control panel located next to the door and covered by a casing to protect it from the elements; beneath this protective container was a screen and key pad that folded out instead of a hologram based interface.

This made Two give pause and wonder several things about this 'Human' society, which appeared to still be fully adapting Prothean technology into their every day machinery. From what the records and evidence had shown this species' warships were more thoroughly outfitted, but there were inconsistencies found on the station and some ships which suggested what many informed individuals in the invasion force were thinking: the humans had only recently acquired Prothean technology and were still exploring ways through which to perfectly replicate and adapt it to their own. Unfortunately this variation meant he couldn't simply hack into the more primitive controls, which were simply incompatible with his Omni-Tool.

Fortunately there were other methods not lost to the Turians, who had their share of experience with groups who thought to be clever by using primitive technology that would leave most modern hackers nauseous. Two's onboard VI began to translate the human text, creating a haphazard wall of text that he could barely make out. Luckily it wasn't an organic mind that would be hacking into this computer today.

Attached to the same arm used for Two's Omni-Tool was a module that had been quickly strung together on a computer screen by some trusted STG agents and transmitted to General Arterius' favored engineering team with proper assembly instructions. It had been designed based off of the findings from the 314 Skirmish for one purpose: to allow a Turian to hack into incompatible human computer systems. The device needed a VI of its own to do anything, but given the STG's history of pulling through in matters like this G2 was confident that it would do the trick...

All the same he signalled the rest of his men to move away, intending to bear the entirety of the risk himself.

Two inhaled slowly before pulling a cable from the arm mounted Hack Module, pushing it into an appropriate port. The VI within the module connected to his visor, displaying an icon to indicate that it has successfully integrated with the human computer and showing a bar below to represent its progress.

Xxx

Within the perimeter wall, just behind a few feet of metal and stone was a large garage area where mechanics were tending to a number of combat vehicles or modified civilian rovers. Several colonial militia members were on guard duty, cradling shotguns that would be more useful in the confined quarters. Unlike the Brotherhood of Steel and Alliance marines these volunteers wore armour that was years out of date and wielded 'slug shooter' weapons that relied on chemical propellants instead of energy, and unfortunately these poorly equipped souls made up the majority of the defence force.

The garage was reasonably maintained, mostly because it had only been in use for a short span of time. Several drones based off of the now ancient Mr Handy model of robots assisted their human co-workers while blurting out random statements.

"Uh..." One mechanic rubbed her chin, examining a large ore transport being converted by one of the Mr Handies into what she assumed was a type of mobile missile turret. "I have a few concerns about this."

" _Preposterous, Mistress!_ " The Mr Handy in question floated down to her level. " _With the firepower of this Chariot of Annihilation at your disposal our enemies shall curse the gods who permitted their parents to copulate!_ "

Putting aside the...unique phrasing employed by the robot, the mechanic cleared her throat and gestured to the truck. "You're bolting a missile turret to the roof of a truck that doesn't have any armour and isn't rated for that sort of weight. I'm pretty sure this thing won't run, much less stay upright." She began to back up quickly as a shadow was cast over both her and the Mr Handy, "Speaking of: LOOK OUT!"

CRUNCH!

The Mr Handy crumpled beneath the weight of the truck, which had tipped over the moment another Mr Handy had tried testing the turret's rotational ability. Part of the large turret had hit the wall next to the vehicle and pushed it off balance. The unfortunate robot vanished entirely beneath the metal hulk while the mechanic was left to simply shake her head in shame and call out to several other Mr Handies.

"Get that turret off, get the truck back up and put it on a lift!" She shouted. "And no more improvising! We'll stick some armour on it along with a barrier emitter and make it into an APC."

As the robots moved in to assist in repositioning the truck and dragging away the crushed remnants of their compatriot the mechanic saw a smaller shape darting through the group towards her.

" _My lady, my lady!_ " The spherical robot wailed, waving its tiny pincer tipped arms frantically. " _Something is wrong, seriously wrong! Come quick!_ "

The mechanic slowly sucked in a breath and exhaled, pulling off her cap and wiping her forehead as she muttered, "I don't get paid enough for this shit." She followed the new robot, a MkII Mr PATSY (Personal Assistant/Teacher/Surveillance/Yeoman) towards the garage's security station on the second floor where two militiamen greeted her.

"The tin can says that there's something outside the front door." One of them tapped the screen showing an exterior view of the cog shaped door leading beyond the wall. "He started going off when the exterior panel opened on its own for some reason."

The mechanic leaned down and peered at the screen. Just as the man had said, the control panel located a few feet from the door had been opened up. Besides that there was no sign of anyone within view of any of the cameras.

"I don't see anything." She shook her head.

" _But it's practically in plain sight, my lady!_ " Mr Patsy insisted. " _Look at the space just in front of the control panel! Look at how the rain droplets are not falling as they should!_ "

The quality of the camera footage was clear enough for her to clearly see a lack of anything in the space in front of the control panel, but the rain and lack of natural light made it difficult to pick out smaller details that the Mr Patsy might be able to perceive as clear as day by connecting itself to the security system. It could have seen something, but it also had a habit of overreacting to many things which turned out to be nothing-paranoia ran in the model's design apparently.

The mechanic shook her head and turned away with an annoyed grumble. "Send out a security detail to take a look, just in case." She decided.

Personally the mechanic didn't believe Mr Patsy's claims, but if it got the annoying little tin can off her back for a while then she'd gladly oblige the robot for now.

Xxx

Ghost Two fought down the powerful urge to smirk as his visor displayed some good news.

The VI had succeeded in tapping into the human systems while avoiding any alarms or traps. Now he had an interface displayed mere millimetres from his face that would react to his eye movements. Two could open and close the door at will, control the alarms directly linked into this sector of the wall or access/disable the exterior security cameras from the console, but before doing anything he sent a signal back to Ghost Leader to inform him of his success.

Suddenly the door began to shift, moving inwards and startling Two, who pulled his module free of the console and dove to the side. He slid through several feet of mud before pressing himself flat to the ground, as did the rest of his team close by as the pathway in front of the door way was illuminated by the interior lights. Several figures stepped under the curtain of rain, one of them grumbling something in its own language, possibly voicing its displeasure with the weather.

These humans did not wear the same armour as those who had been encountered on the orbiting battle station. Instead of grey or brown armour they wore green armour which didn't even fully cover their bodies, and their weapons didn't match up with any of the models that had been retrieved and categorized for the squad to view prior to being deployed.

Two remained still as a statue, hearing the mud being squished beneath the boots of the humans as they chatted and waved beams of light along the ground close by.

Xxx

"No sign of anything out here!" One of the men said into his radio, raising his voice so that he could be heard.

" _Alright, come on back in._ " The mechanic responded, watching all of this from the security office above. " _And close that terminal while you're at it._ "

"Gotcha," The militiaman sighed and pressed a button to close the exterior terminal back up. "Come on, let's get out of this rain, it feels like I'm already soaked to my socks."

The four militia members turned and stepped back inside where another six were spread out with their rifles levelled at the opening in case anything else had tried to get through. The door, mounted on a powerful mechanical arm, was rotated back into place and pushed forward to fill the door frame perfectly like the final piece of a puzzle.

"There, happy?" The mechanic slapped the Mr Patsy as she left the security office. "Now calm down and save the panicking for when we're actually being attacked!"

However, as she walked back down to the ground floor she whispered to one of the guards, "Just in case, be on alert. That Terminal isn't supposed to open itself."

Xxx

Two relaxed and began to move away from the door, regrouping with his team and Ghost Leader close by and out of view of the cameras.

Ghost Leader tapped Two on the shoulder with one hand and held a closed fist over his chest, communicating a silent praise for the lower ranking Ghost's performance. He then set two talons on his own visor and swiped them across to the left.

This second gesture was only used by the Ghosts when their silence had to be broken for the sake of quicker communication. The rest of the Ghosts kept watch while the two knelt a few feet from one another and began to converse quietly.

"Good work, Sergeant." Ghost Leader whispered, "Now we have a way in."

Two shook his head and responded, "You might be overestimating my success, sir. I had a peek through that door, and it looked like there was a lot of traffic inside there. Upwards of a dozen humans I'd wager."

"We'll deal with it." Ghost Leader said, voicing his confidence. "What have you learned from their computers?"

"I had control over the door, the cameras and the alarm systems wired directly into the room beyond that entry point." Two answered, "If I can plug in again for a minute I could cut the alarms, open the door and clear a way for us to get in. We'd still have to move fast though; I don't know how many other exit points there are inside."

This was always the riskiest part of an operation. The Ghosts could not afford to be compromised at any point before their extraction, and Ghost Leader doubted that they would be able to sneak all three teams in without one being spotted.

"There's no way we'll be able to get the entire squad inside at once." Ghost Leader decided, "But maybe we don't need to."

Ghost Leader swiped his talons back across his visor, signalling that the conversation was over and they were to resume operating silently. He then contacted Ghost Three and issued a message to him to watch for the vehicle they had spotted departing earlier.

Several minutes passed, giving the Turians plenty of time to prepare before they heard the rumble of an engine. The vehicle was spotted lumbering clumsily back along the trail and slowed to a stop outside the door. The driver inside transmitted a code to the security office, and moments later the door slid back and began to roll off to the side, leaving the way open for the vehicle to move through, leaving a trail of mud and water behind it.

Once it had settled into place the vehicle's aft hatch popped open and let out a team of militiamen.

"How'd the search go?" The lead mechanic called down from the overhead catwalk.

One of the militiamen took off his helmet. "As per fucking usual: not a thing to be seen."

"Well, just look on the bright side ladies and gents," The mechanic said while sliding down a ladder to the ground floor. "Now you get the night off while we're stuck in here until sunrise."

"Heh, silver linings," The soldier shouldered his rifle and began to walk away from the parked transport and towards the exit leading to the barracks.

The mechanic looked over the mud splattered transport and sighed. "We should just turn this garage into a car wash at this rate." She muttered, not noting the shapes clinging to the bottom of the vehicle's frame, which was suspended a couple feet off of the ground by the oversized wheels.

The four Turians hanging on the undercarriage patiently observed the legs of the humans surrounding them. They had deactivated their stealth generators for the time being, relying on the large tires to keep them adequately hidden from view. The humans appeared to be spraying down the sides of the vehicle to get rid of the mud, which washed away through the grated floor beneath them. The outer door had already been shut by this point, leaving the Turians with no way to evacuate if they were discovered now.

"Okay, there we go." The lead mechanic said while putting away the hose. "Move it to the lot and-" She paused while glimpsing between the tires, catching sight of something black. "Hey, is something down there?"

One of the militia guards knelt down and peeked under the transport, only to see nothing but droplets of water splattering on the floor beneath. He looked at the mechanic and shrugged. "I don't see anything."

The mechanic joined him and swept the underside of the vehicle herself once before shrugging. "Probably just been up too long," She muttered, considering the idea that Mr Patsy's paranoia was rubbing off on her. "Okay, move this over to the lot and get ready for the next recon team."

The transport carefully moved across the garage and backed into an empty space between two other modified vehicles. The driver climbed out and locked it up before following the rest of his team to the barracks.

By this point Ghost Leader risked sticking his head out and deactivated his stealth field once again. He gently lowered himself onto the floor, careful to avoid making any noise as he relinquished his grasp on the transport and carefully crawled out from under the metal bulk. He spotted a camera nearby, but had already received a signal from GhostTwo verifying that he had once again hacked into the security system of this area and set certain cameras to play on a loop to keep the humans from noticing anything. Two was careful to only do this with cameras that were already focused on areas without any human activity such as the parking area or his position by the terminal, which he had accessed while the transport was entering the garage.

The four Turians inside the garage remained low, keeping behind crates or the parked vehicles to keep out of sight of the humans occupying the garage.

Ghost Leader exchanged a glance with his subordinates and held up his arm, briefly extending the blade fixed to his gauntlet. They all nodded and waited until he gave the signal...

When he stepped out from cover and made a chopping motion, the three Ghosts accompanying him sprang into action. While moving under the cover of their cloaks they spread out across the room to execute the standard 'Silent Sweep' maneuver.

Ghost Four tagged the only other exit out of the room before closing the door and frying the control panel. The sparks generated by this caught the attention of several of the mechanics, but made it all the easier for Ghost Five to scale one of the metal pillars to the catwalk and hoist himself up, barely generating a sound before he made his way through the open door of the security office. The two militiamen within heard the footfalls of the Turian's feet against the metal floor and turned just as the door shut and locked, leaving them trapped inside and at his mercy.

In the meantime Ghost Six, taking directions from Two outside, managed to find a metal box mounted on a wall containing power switches to every implement in the garage from the water system to the lights. He hadn't the time to let his rudimentary Translation Index work out what each switch represented, so he opted instead for executing an Overload once he was a safe distance away. The grid used a circuit breaker which detected the over current generated and immediately shut down the electrical current travelling throughout the garage, cutting all of the lights and saving any appliances from being fried.

"What's going on here?!" The lead mechanic shouted as several people turned on lights attached to their personal Pip-Boys, bathing the room in a faint glow. "Somebody check the circuit breaker, get me those lights back!"

What she and her companions closer to the center of the garage failed to notice was that their companions still enveloped in the dark were being picked off one by one. The Ghosts snatched the lone humans and tugged them away, one hand covering their mouths while their extendable blades inserted themselves between their ribs from behind and pierced their hearts or sliced through their necks. Up in the security office the two militiamen were slumped over, their blood pooling together on the floor.

"Hong, have you checked those circuit breakers yet?" The lead mechanic called out after several moments of eerie silence, and tried to spot her colleagues outside the circle of light formed by herself, two other mechanics and three militia guards. When she didn't receive any response the mechanic unconsciously moved closer to the others. "...Hong?"

One of the militia members tapped his radio to try and place a call in to the barracks, but one of the Ghosts quickly hit him with an Overload which fried his radio, causing the ghoul to cry out and tear his helmet off. "Yow!" He threw the helmet away...and accidently hit one of the Turians, causing the helmet to seemingly strike an invisible surface and clatter to the ground as all eyes settled on the area the helmet had struck.

Another militia member raised her rifle and turned on the flashlight attached to the barrel, illuminating the area and uncovering a faintly noticeable distortion in the air generated by the Turian's cloak bending the light passing through it.

"What the hell..." The militiawoman murmured.

"Stealth suit!" The lead mechanic shouted, realizing only now that perhaps she should have taken Mr Patsy more seriously earlier. "Fire! Shoot it!"

All three militia members opened fire, but Ghost Four had already repositioned. The gunshots wouldn't be heard through the thick metal and concrete walls and doors, so the Ghosts weren't worried about their operation being blown just yet...but that was no excuse not to deal with it quickly.

Ghost Five leapt down while dropping his stealth field and landed on one of the militiamen, jamming his blade deep into their neck and causing the other five humans to recoil away from him just as Six moved in from the side and fired a single shot from his pistol into the head of the Ghoul militia member and swiftly cut through the throat of one of the mechanics. The other two mechanics scrambled to get away from the aliens while the final militia member unloaded her rifle at Six with a desperate scream, her bullets bouncing off of his kinetic barriers and causing them to collapse, but the rest of her clip barely succeeded in breaking the outer layer of his armour before running dry.

As the militiawoman tried to grab her sidearm a black blade sprouted from between her ribs. A gasp escaped from the woman as she looked down at the blade, which retracted as Ghost Leader allowed her to collapse to the floor. The two remaining mechanics had sprinted over to the parked vehicles and were trying to open the hatch on one for shelter.

"Come on, come on!" The lead mechanic said through clenched teeth as she and her companion succeeded in forcing open the driver's side door of one APC.

The other mechanic glanced at her and spotted the form of Ghost Four as he appeared behind her, just within range of the light of her Pip-Boy.

"Look out!" The man shouted and pushed the lead mechanic aside just in time, but took a blade clean through his right eye and out the back of his skull for his trouble. The man collapsed to the ground like a sack of potatoes, leaving the sole surviving human splattered with blood and shivering in fright as the armoured aliens towered over her.

If any of the Ghosts felt bad for the human, they didn't show it. Ghost Leader did not hesitate to draw his pistol and place a single round between her eyes, quickly ending the woman's life.

With the garage now clear Ghost Leader swiped his talons across his visor again. "The synthetics?"

"Disabled," Four responded, gesturing with his rifle to where the Mr Handy robots were laying in a pile of scrap and Mr Patsy had a hole punched clean through its chassis.

Ghost Leader nodded and moved towards the door leading to the barracks. "All clear inside; open the doors so Ghost Two can secure this as an exit point. Ghost Three will remain outside and cover our escape route."

Several minutes later the lights were turned back on, the bodies were all dragged off to the side out of view, the blood had been washed away with a spray from the hose and the door was opened up to allow four more Ghosts to enter the garage.

"We're on a time limit," Ghost Leader informed the assembled Turians, "They are using this room to deploy scout groups into the area outside, and the next one could be along at any moment." He pointed at Two. "Secure this room and prevent an alert from being sent out. We only need a few minutes to scout out their defences and conduct our business. After that we will fall back to rally point Menae and wash our hands of this place."

For most this would be difficult at best or impossible at worst to execute, but the Ghosts were used to working on a very narrow time limit. All it took was brief review of their objectives and they would be set to go.

Primary Objective: Infiltrate enemy fortifications and arrange for timed sabotage of a section of the perimeter defence.

Secondary Objectives: Recover or analyze new models of enemy weaponry and gather reconnaissance data. Avoid capture of Hierarchy equipment by human forces. Prevent acquisition of Turian specimen (living or dead) by human forces.

"We don't have time to stop and face these humans," Ghost Leader said as they synchronized their Omni-Tools. "We avoid confrontation, move on to the target zone and then retreat. If anybody is compromised you know what to do."

The Ghosts could not leave the humans with a Turian corpse to dissect and examine, nor could they provide the humans with samples of Hierarchy made devices to analyze. Each of them had an incendiary explosive that, when detonated, would incinerate their bodies down to their skeletons and leave nothing but ash and a few bone fragments. No functioning technology would survive, and no examples of Turian physiology would be recovered for these aliens to examine and find weaknesses for. This denial of information was why the Ghosts had been chosen for this instead of a Black Watch team.

By the time the humans realized that they had been infiltrated they would be left with nothing but a trail of bodies, destroyed machinery and an unanswered question as to how their defences had so easily been surpassed.

Xxx

 **Vault Bunker 9**

 **Level 5, Emergency Exit Path, Entry to natural cave system**

 **Three hours after Turian landing**

"Damn it, too late!" Sergeant Scott grunted as he, Mason and Sutton reached the end of a long, wide corridor that had taken them several minutes to traverse before stepping through a set of wide open security doors onto natural rock formation. "We'll never find them down here."

The corridor opened to a semi-circular chamber with four different paths leading out. Two led down, another moved to an upwards slope and the fourth was flat terrain for as far as they could see.

Owen shook his head, "Don't be so certain of that, Sergeant." He turned on his Pip-Boy's built in light and shined it on the floor. "Lookie what I just found."

Scott knelt and examined a trail of outlines resembling feet. "Dust and dirt taken from the base on their boots," He realized.

"It leads to this tunnel here." Sutton pointed to a tunnel leading downwards. "I bet these ones lead further away from the bunker, probably to some where nice and remote where they can evac."

"And they'll be slow," Owen smirked and motioned his team to move forward. "Let's move, and try to keep quiet. They might leave a rear guard or traps for us."

The trio followed the designated tunnel, tracing its singular path down deeper into the rock until it levelled out. From time to time they would find more foot imprints and even evidence of an indent in a rocky wall formed by the edge of something made of a strong material. Other times they found that the platform being dragged along had scraped against rock emplacements or even shattered some.

"They're in a hurry." Owen said, keeping his voice low so that his words wouldn't echo too far. "Sloppy, rushed...good, we want them off balance when we find them."

"By my estimates," Sutton whispered while examining her Pip-Boy, "We've gone upwards of two miles already and descended almost forty meters. Where does this lead?"

"I have an idea where," Owen answered, "And now that I think about it, it's the perfect place to hide a ship close enough to hide it from wandering passers and close enough to connect to its QEC with the base transmitter."

"What is the place?" Scott asked.

Owen cracked a smile. "One of the Wonders of Shanxi, a nature preserve on the edge of the Great Steppe," He answered, "They call it Shangri-La Valley." (1)

Xxx

 **Vault Bunker 9**

 **Level 5, Command Centre**

"So...Campbell, was it?" General Mycroft asked, still sitting on his knees while Nathan examined security footage of different areas of the base, watching for any patrolling Securitrons that wandered too close. "You don't look like the usual Alliance grunt."

Nathan tried to ignore the older man, only sparing him a glance every second to ensure the terrorist leader was not attempting to break free of his restraints or attack him. He paused as one of the security cameras showed him a view of one of the corridors.

"Hold," Nathan ordered, causing the computer to remain on that screen. He used his hand to magnify the area of the image where a dark shape was latched onto the wall about halfway down the corridor. "I know that wasn't there before."

Mycroft sighed and began to stand back up, causing Nathan to tense and slip one finger around the trigger of his sidearm still levelled at his prisoner's head.

"Just stretching my legs, son." Mycroft said innocently.

"Cut the 'son' crap, old man." Nathan replied coldly, "If I have to be stuck in the same room as you, we're going to be playing the Silence Game after I'm done talking. Loser gets a free laser to the face. Got it? Begin!"

Ian's smile grew, showing his amusement at the idle threat. "You sure seem to hold a grudge, boy. Tell me, what is it that makes you so...afraid of having help provided to your own race?"

Campbell turned away from the screens entirely and faced Mycroft. He walked over and raised one foot, applying a front kick which sent the older man stumbling off of the platform and crashing to the floor of the command centre below with a groan, but little else to show discomfort or pain.

"My problem is that you're a bunch of self righteous zealots who try to look for an excuse to kill anyone who doesn't agree with you or isn't some perfect specimen of human." Campbell growled, aiming down at Mycroft for several moments before stepping down after him and dragged the General back up to his previous position. "I could go on all day with this, but I'm a little preoccupied and you've wasted enough of my time as is. Now shut up and sit down or the next time I might forget that Mason wants you alive."

Mycroft obeyed, having nothing else to say now that his distraction was complete. While Nathan had been busy delivering his little threat the other screens that he had left floating off to the side went unmonitored, showing a silhouette planting devices similar to the one he had discovered on walls throughout the base. All that Ian had done was keep the young man's attention diverted long enough for this unsung hero to go about his work without being spotted, leaving the marine confused as he noticed the devices being planted throughout the base. All it had taken was several moments for at least four of these devices to be placed in different sectors, as if by several people at once.

"These were not there before," Nathan whispered, focusing on the devices in each screen before spotting Rice and Parker on another, right outside the door to the Security Office. The former was crouched and trying to hack the door open while the latter was exchanging fire with an unseen foe.

"Oh shit," Nathan began to look over the command options available, quickly glancing at Mycroft again when he realized he'd taken his eyes off of the General for a moment too long. "Unlock, unlock...unlock Security Office, there!" He tapped the holographic tab, which lit up as the door opened in the footage.

"Bravo son," Mycroft praised Campbell and began to clap. "Now let me show you why your Alliance needs to remember the saying: respect your elders."

Campbell heard the clatter of Mycroft's hand cuffs falling to the floor and quickly spun around just in time to be met with a fist to his face.

Xxx

 **Security Office**

When the doors hissed open Rice almost leapt back in shock.

"Good work, now get in!" Parker said as she turned and shoved the startled Knight through the doorway. She turned to fire several more bursts at the team of Securitrons closing in on them-including two shield bearers who had kept her from landing a single kill for the whole duration of the brief battle.

"But-I didn't-" Rice protested even as Parker shut the doors behind them.

"Hurry up and start hacking!" The inquisitor insisted while searching the small office for something to use for cover, and settling on a table which she overturned and sent a collection of playing cards scattering across the floor.

Rice, seeing that there was no time for debating what he had or hadn't done simply nodded his head and rushed around the main desk at the back of the room. He sat down and opened up the Security Chief's computer, which had a level four encryption. (2)

"This might take me a minute!" He called out.

"What the hell did I tell you about saying that?!" Parker hollered, reloading her weapon. "Why do you always need a god damn minute?!"

"Hacking isn't easy you know!" Rice protested.

"I do know! I do it all the time!" Parker growled in frustration. "But you're supposed to do this in your sleep!"

Rice shook his head and sighed before getting to work. His hands danced across the interface, typing in lines of code before he was shown columns of possible pass words.

"Oh screw that," He muttered before wirelessly connecting his Pip-Boy to the computer, "Command: Encryption Assist."

The screen turned dark, leaving only the actual full words and getting rid of lines of jumbled characters and symbols. These words were all sorted into a single row on top of one another. Each was eight letters long: Starving, Treading, Haunting, Marathon, Staplers...

"Command: Encryption Assist Comparison."

Each of the words were compared to one another, looking for similarities between them.

"Well, here it goes." Rice sucked in a breath and selected one of the words: Starving.

 **PASSWORD INCORRECT. 1/8 LETTERS CORRECT.**

"Okay, so nothing ending with 'ing'." Rice whispered as the security office's door began to glow bright red near the middle.

"Hurry it up!" Parker growled, crouching behind her improvised cover. "They're breaking through!"

"Command: Encryption Assist Removal: Ending, I-N-G." Rice would never find out just how he managed to speak those words in a steady and clear manner.

Every word ending in 'ing' was instantly removed from the screen, leaving a little over a half dozen options including the wrong selection and only three more chances to guess correctly.

Rice selected another word: Telethon.

 **PASSWORD INCORRECT. 4/8 LETTERS CORRECT.**

"Command: Encryption-" Rice flinched as a hole was blasted through the door. "-Assist Comparison: Telethon!"

Telethon was compared to every remaining word. It had four letters matching up to two of the words: Teleport and Marathon.

Rice ducked his head down as a Securitron fired through the hole, nearly taking the Knight's head off before Parker fired a burst of plasma fire right into the robot's skull at close range, burning through its armour and making it recoil as sparks flew from where it had been hit.

"RICE!" Parker roared.

The Knight jammed his finger down on 'Marathon'...

 **PASSWORD ACCEPTED, USER ACCESS GRANTED.**

Rice breathed a sigh of relief and quickly opened up the security controls. From here he saw overrides for every automated security measure in the bunker. Automated turrets, explosive traps, laser tripwires and most importantly the Securitrons!

 **SECURITRON PROTOCOLS RESET TO FACTORY MODE. SHUTTING DOWN ALL UNITS.**

Just as one of the Securitrons began to peek in through the hole to fire it went stiff and then backed out. All six Securitrons in the corridor sat down and curled up into balls on the floor, their arms wrapped around their legs and their heads bowed. After that they all reverted to standby mode and would not move even if someone were to take a loaded gun to them one at a time-which a certain Inquisitor would feel the powerful urge to do.

Parker let out a breath and leaned her head on the upturned edge of the table. "I fucking hate robots for a reason." She murmured. "And Rice...good job.

This compliment, as simple as it was, startled the young man. He had been expecting another complaint about-

"But I still hate your timing." Parker added.

Aaaand there it was.

Rice's communicator going off a moment later was a welcome relief. He answered the hail while taking off his helmet and collapsed backwards into the comfy chair. "Rice here."

" _Rice, it's Campbell!_ " He could hear the marine shout over the sounds of crashing metal and energy discharges. " _Somebody else is in the base! They're planting-_ " The transmission was suddenly cut off, and now Rice could only hear static.

"What? Campbell, you're breaking up!" Rice called through his communicator. "Campbell!"

Parker climbed to her feet with a growl and kicked the table she was leaning against hard enough to leave a noticeable dent in the metal. "My day just can't stop getting interesting, can it?" She demanded. "Pull up the security feeds and let's see if we can find out what he was talking about. He said somebody else was here so maybe we'll find them on the feed."

Xxx

 **Command Centre**

 **Approximately three minutes ago**

Campbell barely managed to turn around before one of Mycroft's fists struck him in the face hard enough to throw him off his feet and make him crash onto the main floor several feet below the platform in a parody of their earlier confrontation. In those few moments the only thing that Campbell would be aware of was a sudden blinding pain, a rush of movement and finally settling on a cold surface. Several of his teeth had been knocked loose by the blow...one was actually broken off and resting against the inside of his right cheek as the marine tried to raise his head off of the floor and regain his senses.

The Manifest General who only moments ago had appeared to be completely helpless was now standing tall, rolling his shoulders a bit as he hopped down and craned his neck to either side until he heard a satisfying pop. He looked down Campbell, who managed to turn onto his side and spit out a bloody tooth.

"Son, another lesson that I'll leave you is this," Mycroft said as he leaned down and picked Campbell up by the throat, "Always wear your helmet."

Then he punched Nathan in the ribs, aiming for the side and low enough to strike where his armour was not as thick as it was on his chest. The thin plating cracked and shattered easily, and hard suit beneath did little to protect the younger man's ribs, one of which broke like a tooth pick against Mycroft's mechanical strength and elicited a strangled groan of pain from Nathan. It also served to shock him back into a full state of awareness as Mycroft drew his arm back.

As the second blow came shooting forward Nathan raised his left leg up despite the sensation of pure agony shooting up his ribs on that side. The armoured sole of his boot met Mycroft's fist before it could move too far, stopping it cold and catching him off guard. Nathan took advantage of this to jam the heel of his left palm forward into the General's nose with enough force to generate a cracking noise as bones fractured and crumpled. Mycroft gave groan of pain shock as his nose was pushed into a misshapen position and released his vice grip on Nathan.

This would only be a brief respite from the one sided pounding that Nathan had only managed to delay, so he quickly relocated himself behind one of the nearby rows of consoles and chairs, vaulting over them and triggering different hologram displays before he tumbled down clumsily onto the far side and pressed himself against the desk. Mycroft had one hand over his nose as blood spurted from his nostrils and dripped down his face.

"Little-piece of-" CRACK! "Ugh!"

Nathan risked peeking out over the top of the row of desks once he had his laser rifle unfolded and in hand. Mycroft was removing his hand to reveal that his nose was...realigning itself back into its normal shape. Fragments of bone could be seen shifting beneath the skin and then settling back into their original shape, and the process appeared to incur some measure of pain for Mycroft based on his reaction.

Once it was over Mycroft exhaled heavily and looked around the command centre. "Lucky move, boy." He growled, losing any semblance of his calm and amused disposition. "No more games. I'm ending this now!"

Nathan's response was to aim his rifle over the top of his cover and fire two beams of red energy into Mycroft. Both struck him in the upper body and burnt sections of his armour before he nimbly performed a back flip onto the command platform and then executed a second one just as quickly to move out of sight on the far side. The man was certainly a lot more agile than he looked, and that was even with that heavy looking armour he wore.

"You're fighting the inevitable, Campbell!" Mycroft called out as Nathan knelt back down. "What comes to the Alliance next will be a result of its own weakness, and only what I have planned will save the rest of humanity from being subjugated by these aliens."

Nathan shook his head and muttered softly, "I'd pay good money and give up shore leave for a decade just to hear you shut your fucking gob right now." He muttered while moving to the side to peer around the platform.

A green globule of plasma shot by his head, singing several hairs and causing Nathan to throw himself back into cover as two more shots splashed against the far wall of the command center. After the third shot exploded into a green mist Nathan fired over the edge of his cover, sighting Mycroft rolling out of view and moving towards the exit.

"No you don't," Nathan said through clenched teeth as he launched himself over the row of consoles and then slid across the surface of a holo-table as Mycroft fired off several shots in mid run for the doors. Nathan fired his rifle twice, scoring a hit against Mycroft's right arm, which appeared to have reshaped itself into some sort of onboard plasma gun...which was surrounded by some cocoon of blue energy that protected it from being reduced to slag-and that meant it certainly wasn't any kinetic barrier that Nathan was familiar with.

Before Nathan could get off a third shot Mycroft swung his other arm as a blue and fiery aura covered his hand. A similar aura appeared around Nathan, who slowed down and glanced around. "What the hell is this supposed to be, a fancy light...?" He trailed off as a strange sensation overtook him.

"Whoa-whoa!" Nathan was lifted up into the air, flailing as he tried to steady himself out. He felt weightless, as though he was in a low or zero gravity environment without a gravity generator present. He was sent tumbling head over heels through the air, carried solely by his own momentum until he slammed into the ceiling and bounced off. After several moments the effect ended and he crashed back down to the floor with a pained grunt.

"What...the hell?" Nathan groaned, climbing to his feet and sighting Mycroft just before he vanished around a corner within view of the main doors. "Damn it!"

Nathan quickly gave pursuit, dashing out into the hallway and tapping into his communicator. He still had one thing besides Mycroft to worry about, and the capture of a high value target clearly took priority. But it didn't hurt to play it safe.

" _Rice here._ " Nathan heard the voice of the Knight, sounding like he'd just run a marathon.

"Rice, it's Campbell!" Right as Nathan spoke he had to duck down to avoid several more hastily fire plasma bolts sent his way by the fleeing Manifest General, who was moving with the speed of an Olympic sprinter. "Somebody else is in the base! They're planting-"

Suddenly one of the bolts struck Nathan's Pip-Boy, causing it to spark and heat up enough to make the man cry out and quickly work to disconnect it from his arm. He tossed the melted device aside and saw that Mycroft was now facing him from nearly forty feet away, his plasma gun/arm raised and a smirk on the older man's face.

"Nobody likes a tattle tale, Campbell!" Mycroft chuckled before resuming his previous course.

Nathan fired off several shots after him before continuing the chase. "I'm going to break that cannon off in your ass, old man!" He barked.

In the back of his mind Nathan had a thousand questions focusing on the strange blue glow that Mycroft had used against him earlier. He had never seen such a weapon before, and it had managed to somehow send him flying like the pull of gravity was a pipe dream. If Mycroft had something like that in his arsenal then why had he waited until that point to use it? And why hadn't he killed Nathan while he was face planting on the ceiling?

He'd have to find out after he caught up to Mycroft and personally blasted every one of his limbs off.

Xxx

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing files...**

 **File opened: TURIAN GHOSTS**

 **The Turian military is most famous for its legendary discipline that is instilled into every individual from the lowest ranking recruit to the oldest and most seasoned general. When a Turian army falls back it is done so in an organized effort, laying traps and ambushes while units provide cover fire, but when it advances it removes these obstacles that would expedite an enemy retreat. The 26** **th** **Armiger Legion of the Turian Hierarchy utilizes Ghost Squadrons, Special Forces front line Infiltrators utilizing thruster packs for enhanced mobility and advanced stealth field emitters that render them invisible to most infantry based sensors and forms of long range detection. Each Ghost is an accomplished saboteur trained to operate alone or in squad formations, utilizing equipment uniquely designed for destruction of equipment, detonation of explosive materials and subtly neutralizing unprotected individuals after quickly peeling away their defences.**

 **The classic Ghost unit operates in squads of twelve divided into three fire team sized groups and identified as Ghost Leader and 2-12 on their Team Frequency for the duration of their mission (other designations can be assigned if the Ghost presence is larger than twelve members, which is rare) .**

 **Ghost Leader is the designated squad leader, and is assigned command of one of the fire teams (Ghosts Four to Six) while the other two teams are commanded by Ghosts Two (commanding Ghosts Seven to Nine) and Three (Ten to Twelve). Ghost Leader is traditionally a commander while Ghosts Two and Three are Sergeants, and the fire team based organization is used mainly for when the squad is forced to split apart.**

 **Each team is capable of operating independently, but Ghost Leader bears overall field authority and total discretion to undertake any actions for the sake of the Turian Hierarchy and the Council with the understanding that their lives are second to achieving their objective.**

 **While superior to the common Turian soldier in covert action, the Turian Ghosts and their colleagues in Black Watch still struggle to contend with their Salarian counterparts in the STG, who have at times served as sources of inspiration for the training of both units.**

 **File closed**

 **Accessing files...**

 **File opened: KINETIC BARRIERS**

 **Kinetic Barriers are the primary form of defence both for personnel and ships in the Citadel aligned races, which have had thousands of years to perfect the application of the technology where the Alliance has only recently begun to refine their use. They are repulsive mass effect fields projected from emitters in reaction to a rapidly approaching projectile but allow the user to move about normally without restriction. While proven to be less than reliable against plasma weaponry and useless against lasers kinetic barriers are easier to power and implement on anything from an army of millions of soldiers to a large fleet. The Alliance has only managed to arm its colonial marines with personal barriers while the Brotherhood has more thoroughly outfitted its forces.**

 **A barrier is activated in reaction to an incoming mass moving at a sufficient enough speed to trigger the built in sensors.**

 **The Alliance has tried to apply its knowledge of energy shielding to create a personal shield system for infantry and star ships derived from Kinetic Barriers, but has met with limited success besides the creation of a city wide shield known as the Shell. Where energy shields would be too much of a power drain the Kinetic Barrier system has proven to be more efficient and suffices for intercepting and redirecting physical objects.**

 **File closed**

(1) Shangri-La was used by author James Hilton in his novel _Lost Horizon_ and has been used in popular culture to describe a mystical earthly paradise contained within a valley. Comparisons have been made between it and Shambala, the Garden of Eden any number of the mythical Beyuls (hidden valleys to act as refuges, guarded over by deities). It is also the name of a real county level city in the northwestern Yunnan province.

(2) I am using a number system to identify levels of difficulty in hacking computers. Easy is Level One, Normal is Level Two, Hard is Level Three and Very Hard is Level Four.

On another note: if anybody is concerned that I am making the Turians too competent or the Alliance too weak, consider the following.

The Turian fleet has taken more casualties than the Alliance fleet did, and has repeatedly been given the advantage of overwhelming numbers against the Alliance in both engagements shown so far. The Turian Ghosts are elite infiltration specialists and have only encountered militia members and civilian mechanics. In every instance the Turians have had the advantage of numbers and/or superior training and equipment, and have yet to actually face an Alliance force that matches them in terms of all of those categories.

But that shall change soon, rest assured.


	8. Chapter 7: Fall of Shanxi Part 5

Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

Just one warning...this chapter will be a BIG one. I want to try and get through the Fall of Shanxi Arc in one or two more chapters tops. After that we have the hopefully shorter Shanxi Insurgency Arc.

For this chapter I'm going to try focusing solely on the Turian/Alliance front so I can wrap things up, so you can expect this chapter to be much longer than usual.

On the topic of taking liberties...there is a certain character who shall immediately appear in this chapter who I am making into a natural Biotic. There is a heavy debate as to whether or not he is a biotic by nature or if they were a result of cybernetic enhancement, and I have chosen to simply retcon his status. As for who this character is...you'll see shortly, just scroll down!

Xxx

Chapter Seven: Fall of Shanxi, Part Five, The Flames of War

 **Turian Staging Ground Alpha**

 **General Desolas Arterius' quarters**

 **Ten hours after Turian landing**

Desolas may be the target of criticism by older officers for certain character traits, but one couldn't deny that he was an efficient and organized officer. A human term to apply to the man would be 'spartan' based on his quarters in one of the erected structures. It had the bare basic requirements to allow him to rest, exercise, eat and work in privacy and lacked any luxuries that other officers might procure for themselves out this far from home. A simple sleeping roll, a desk with a small computer on it, several square feet of empty space and a small circular table with a single chair were all that occupied the General's quarters as he worked away.

Currently he was looking over proposed strategies for storming the human city, each provided by favored officers of his who had been selected solely for the fact that they had enough competence not to warrant being immediately demoted and shipped off to run a graveyard shift along the Perseus Veil or Terminus borders. To their credit the ideas were sound, each designed with the fact in mind that there was next to no information on what to expect within the city walls and outlined with proper contingencies for regiments to follow in the event of an ambush, loss of command personnel or a half dozen other scenarios. These were the sort of people who Desolas would tolerate dragging around the galaxy for the benefit of actually listening to them talk, and that category was a narrow one.

"Am I interrupting, General?" A voice broke Desolas out of his thoughts, causing him to close his computer and spin his chair around to face this intruder.

Upon sighting this trespasser Desolas' frown melted away and his muscles relaxed. The Turian General rose to his feet and walked towards the door with a rare sincere smile. He threw his arms around the smaller Turian who had entered without announcing himself or asking for permission, which would have gotten anybody else reprimanded and scrubbing the latrines.

"Saren," Desolas said as he pulled away from the Turian, who looked like a younger version of the General with matching gray scales, similar fringe shape and matching blue eyes. "I hadn't been told that you had been part of the reinforcements."

Saren Arterius returned the smile. "I felt that it would be better to wait until I had actually arrived to announce myself, brother." He responded. "When I had heard that your fleet was being scrambled I managed to convince my commander to reroute my transfer."

Usually Desolas would disapprove, but right now he was just glad to have his younger sibling there with him. Saren was one of the few people who could get past Desolas' outer shell (the shell known as 'General Arterius'), and one of the rare people who Desolas could casually converse with.

"So you decided to follow me out here just so you wouldn't miss out on the fun?" Desolas joked, gesturing to the chair at his table with one hand. "Please, sit."

Saren accepted the offer and seated himself on the simple stool, partially leaning on the table. "Actually I wanted to see if the rumours were true regarding this new species." He responded. "And it seems they were not wrong."

"I don't blame you if you were apprehensive." Desolas pulled the chair away from his work desk to sit across from his younger brother. "I was too, but Captain Pridius provided ample physical evidence of this new civilization...and of the dangers it represented."

Saren cocked his head at that last part, his facial features subtly shifting enough to tell Desolas that the young soldier was deep in thought. A slight glance down towards the table, downwards shifting of the facial plates located on his brow, minor movement of lower mandibles. It was Saren's 'thinking' face, and Desolas had mastered the art of spotting it from a young age.

"I can't disagree," Saren admitted, "But do you really intend to invade the whole of their territory?"

"If necessary, yes." Desolas answered, lacing his fingers together and resting his hands on the table. "However if the conquest of this world proceeds as planned we may be able to explore other options...I won't hold my breath, but if somebody can get these humans to send their leaders to the negotiation table I wouldn't be entirely against negotiating from a strengthened position."

Saren relaxed at this news. "They kept whispering things about you, Desolas." He confessed. "They said you had become obsessed with pursuing this war...I am glad to know they are wrong."

Desolas chuckled. "Of course they would say that about me. I make the decisions others falter with, and that makes them view my actions as 'extreme' or 'radical'. They forget that I too am capable of rational thought, brother, and I don't intend to wipe out this collection of races unless they truly force my hand."

Seeking to change the topic to something less grim, Desolas stood up and gestured for Saren to follow. "Enough of this talk, let's see if they've finished setting up an officer's mess yet."

The two stepped out into the heavy rain, both wearing ponchos with hoods to cover their unshielded heads. They remained out of the way of other Turians who were marching in formation, vehicles rolling on by and the odd casual stroller on their way to the officer's mess building. It was basically some tarps erected on pole digging deep into the ground and several tables beneath it; the only difference between it and the basic mess area was that it had a large secure supply crate that had extra supplies for their personal enjoyment.

"Usually I can't stand crap weather like this," Desolas confessed, and sat down without once talking to the quartermaster watching over the supply crate. "But after months on a star ship I find it to be rather...endearing."

Saren pulled his own hood back and sat back down. "I can share that sentiment." He agreed. "I expect you'll be sick of it all over again by the time you're finished on this world."

Desolas chuckled. "I intend to be finished long before I reach the point of being sickened by this planet, Saren."

Saren knew better than to doubt his brother when he told him that something was going to happen or was already happening.

"After I'm finished with this world," Desolas continued while the cook assigned to the officer's mess brought over a couple trays stacked with Dextro-Amino based food for the brother, "I should have a little more pull back home in regards to that proposal you received from the Citadel."

He was referring of course to something that had quickly catapulted Saren out of his shadow and to his side at the top of the Arterius bloodline: Saren's offer of joining the Special Tactics & Recon division of the Citadel military otherwise known as the Spectres. Over a thousand others had received the same offer, but Saren stood out at the youngest of that number and among the top ten who were likely to actually receive the position. To become a Spectre, the right hand of the Council itself was seen as nothing short of an honour which redeemed any past failures, and despite his own accomplishments Desolas never came close to being offered such a role. In addition to the prestige, the status of Spectre granted one unlimited discretion without repercussion from any laws in any society aligned with the Council, however this only lasted as long as the Council itself decided a Spectre could be trusted with such power.

Saren perked at this reminder, mainly because it came from his brother. "I wouldn't ask you to do me any favours, brother." He responded with the Turian equivalent sheepish grin.

"Nonsense!" Desolas shook his head. "You're best qualified to join the Spectres Saren, but I'm not proposing I tip the odds in your favour with some bribe; rather to simply make sure many others know your capabilities when it comes time for the Council to choose." He picked up a glass containing a blue liquid. "Mother and father would be proud of you for this, and let no one dispute that fact."

Saren picked up his own glass and met Desolas in a toast before downing the contents...

And then the world around them exploded.

Both Turians were flung from their seats as their table was flipped over. Shrapnel flew overhead, Turians nearby were flung to the ground dead or dying, screams of agony could be heard near the source of the chaos barely fifty feet from where the two brothers had been sitting.

A line of transport ships had only just landed, bringing down more vehicles and supplies in preparation for the coming assault. While one had been in the middle of unloading a large hovering tank a sudden explosion had torn through the ship, detonating its fuel supply and the munitions stored aboard. The same thing had happened to several other transport ships lined up near it, triggering a chain reaction which soon left one of the Turian landing fields consumed in flames.

"Spirits," Saren coughed, pushing the table up and off of himself and Desolas before kneeling down to help his elder sibling. "Brother, are you alright?"

Desolas groaned and turned onto his side. "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is bruised and bleeding at the moment." He replied, and shrugged out of Saren's grasp when the younger Arterius attempted to help him up. "Don't waste time tending to me brother, check on the troops."

Saren nodded and rushed towards the site of the explosions where other Turians were attempting to carry away or extinguish survivors. He stopped to help lift a section of charred hull plating off of a partially crushed soldier and drag the man away, his legs no reduced to bloody tatters with bone poking through into the open. The sight would be enough to make most Turians fresh out of training feel sick, but Saren had more than a few years of service under his belt and was used to such grotesque displays. Luckily the medic appeared to share a similar amount of experience, as he was calmly working on stabilizing the poor foot soldier.

As Saren knelt and held the Turian down to allow a medic to sedate him, he took notice of something that was lost to most among the chaos...

The muddy ground was a mess of Turian boot prints a trails being dug by bodies being dragged away, but close by he noted some movement where there was no one to disturb the moist earth. Something was pressing an imprint into the surface, leaving a trail that led away from the wreckage. Saren glanced back down, pretending not to have notice this phenomenon and activated his Omni-Tool.

Luckily the medic had the injured Turian sedated by that point, excusing Saren who shot to his feet chased after the invisible entity fleeing the scene of the explosion, trying to catch up before the rain could wash the trail away. He also had to be careful not to tip them off too soon or they might realize their flaw and escape before he could get close enough. Saren pretended to stop to examine the corpse of a fallen technician, glancing up and keeping track of where the new indentations appeared in the mud before choosing to act.

The Turian's Omni-Tool lit up again as he shot forward and grasped an invisible shape standing at the height of his chest. The unseen shape began to struggle, but before it had any time to form a defence or try to escape Saren activated his Omni-Tool's Overload ability. The result was the manifestation of a bipedal figure clad in a dark suit covering it from head to toe, parts of it blinking in and out of sight thanks to Saren damaging what he assumed was a stealth suit. Based on the size and proportions, which were similar to an Asari, he assumed it to be a human.

The human twisted in his grasp and managed to land a kick to his abdomen that caused Saren to stumble back a step and allowed the saboteur the chance to bolt.

"Stop!" Saren growled, sprinting after them as the masked human took off through the Turian camp.

With the distraction caused by the explosion most Turians in the area had converged on the blast area or were rushing to their own stations. By the time the human reached a crowded area their stealth suit was working again, but Saren could now see a more obvious distortion in the space behind the human, making it easier for him to lock onto them even in the crowd. However for the other Turians rushing to their posts they were too distracted to spot the vaguely outlined figure weaving between them with the grace of an Asari Commando.

On foot this human was undeniably much faster than Saren, so the Turian needed to compensate for this by getting them into a wide open area so he could neutralize them regardless of the distance between them.

The chase took them straight towards the edge of the camp where the human detonated a series of explosives that had somehow been planted on several of the perimeter guns. This disorganized the guards there long enough for the human to slip past and begin sprinting for the cover of a nearby tree line.

Behind them, Saren leaned down to scoop up a rifle dropped by one of the injured sentries. The rifle unfolded in his grip as he dashed towards the trees where his quarry had vanished.

Xxx

" _Eva, status?_ " The voice of the mercenary who had conversed with General Williams mere hours before was heard through a radio within the fleeing human's helmet.

"Objective achieved." The saboteur known as Eva gasped, darting through the underbrush and sliding down a slow. "I'm en route to rally point alpha!"

" _Copy,_ " Her colleague responded, " _Proceeding with phase two. Are you being pursued?_ "

"Negati-" Eva yelped as splinters exploded out from a tree trunk on her right, causing her to stumble away. She glanced back over her shoulder and sighted a figure darting between the trees not far behind her. "Affirmative! Affirmative! Got at least one in pursuit!"

" _Reroute to rally point bravo. Someone will meet you there._ "

"Wilco!" Eva responded, taking off again and using the trees to throw off the aim of her pursuer as he fired a second shot which flew under her right arm and scraped the side of her armour before striking a rock ahead of her. "Gotta be fast, his aim is getting better!"

Xxx

Barely fifty yards behind her, Saren had the rifle fold up and slapped it into place on his back so that he could move faster. The trees and terrain made it difficult to acquire a clear line of sight on a moving target, so he would focus just on keeping them in sight until he had an opportunity. The young Turian nimbly navigate the forest floor, beginning to gain ground on the human.

" _Saren, do you have eyes on the hostile?_ " He heard Desolas' voice through his communicator.

"Affirmative!" Saren replied, "Proceeding north through the forest!"

" _I'm airborne in two and rerouting local patrols to intercept._ " Desolas informed him, the sounds of a dropship's engines firing up filling the background. " _Keep them in your sights, neutralize them if you get a chance but try to take them alive._ "

"No promises."

Saren vaulted over a fallen tree which the human had hastily rolled under moments before. The distance between them was closing now that the human had to carefully maneuver lest they trip whereas Saren could do the same thing without slowing down. Their chase took them to the banks of a river shallow enough for the human's knees to remain above the water where she crossed, but she was still slowed down enough for Saren to have a clear shot.

He slid to a stop on the bank of the river while smoothly falling into a crouched position and snatching the rifle off of his back. The weapon extended to is full length as he brought it to bear and a scope popped out as he lined up his shot and squeezed the trigger just as the human reached the far side of the river. A resounding explosion of air filled the forest as his shot struck home right in the human's back, a little above her left hip.

Xxx

"Fuck!" Eva gasped as she set a hand over the hole that had been blasted through her and limped away from the river bank. She turned and fired a pistol behind her, bullets striking the water, the sand, the trees...and only one struck her alien pursuer only to be deflected off of a blue barrier which appeared around him. "Oh come on!"

She managed to reach the tree line and began to stumble, using the trees on either side to steady herself as she continued on towards her destination. Her side was on fire and blood was pouring from the wound, but Eva's medical systems were already reacting to the damage. Soon the burning became a blinding pain which caused her to cry out and fall over as her suit injected a foam into the breach to stop the outgoing flow of blood, filling the breach until the skin surrounding both the entry and exit wound bulged and a white semi-solid rubber substance squirted through the holes in her armour only to solidify itself.

"Ffff..." Eva climbed back to her feet to keep moving only to come face to face with a pale grey armoured torso and the barrel of a familiar rifle. She looked up into the eyes of the alien who she had left behind at the lake. "What in the actual hell?!"

Xxx

 **Approximately one minute ago**

Saren's shot had not been meant to kill, but to wound the human so that she would be that much easier to detain. He found it odd that her armour appeared to lack functioning kinetic barriers, but from what Desolas' men had seen of countless humans (both living and dead) they were a mixed bag. Some had armour with kinetic barriers almost on part with the average Turian trooper, others lacked barriers altogether. Given her actions it could be that her suit had been specialized towards infiltration and as a result of a lack of progress in the field of barrier technology they had either neglected or failed to install barrier emitters.

He could only shake his head as he watched the human limp away while firing several hasty shots over her shoulder. One struck his barriers but barely lowered them by ten percent.

Saren tapped his communicator. "Broth-General," He corrected himself quickly, "What is your ETA to my position?"

" _Touching down in three minutes._ "

"Then I suppose I'd best bring this chase to an end." Saren sighed before crouching in the wet sand.

A blue aura flared around the young Turian as he dug his feet in and then launched himself forward, folding space around himself as he vanished from where he stood and reappeared on the far side of the river, saving himself the trouble of splashing across.

This display of power came from Saren's biotics, an ability to generate and manipulate mass effect fields caused by the formation of element zero nodules within his body as a result of him or a recent ancestor being exposed to a little too much eezo while in utero. Saren was one in several thousand Turians exposed at this stage who came out lucky enough to possess these powers...however the amount of luck was subjective. The Hierarchy had a mistrust of Biotics, and even Turians who merely had Biotic potential were shipped off to join units such as the one that Saren was part of: The Turian Cabals.

Many saw being a Cabal as a career end, as few ever moved up beyond being a field officer thanks to a slight prejudice against Biotics in the military. Saren however had embraced his role and had prospered thanks to Desolas convincing more than a few people to look past his abilities, hence why he'd had enough pull to have his unit rerouted to assist in this very campaign.

Straightening up, Saren followed the trail of crushed branches and trampled leaves until he caught sight of the human up ahead. She had collapsed to the ground and was tightly gripping the area where she had been shot. Saren saw something sprouting from the holes left in her stealth suit and realized the cause of the human's pain after using his Omni-Tool to run a quick diagnostic scan. It appeared that the human's armour came equipped with an onboard medical system which was sealing her wounds-an impressive design for sure.

As the human began to rise back up Saren took one step forward and vanished once again, reappearing in front of the human and turning to face her with his rifle aimed right between her eyes. She stared at him for a second before groaning something in her language.

Saren cracked a smirk and tapped into his communicator again. "General, I have her-"

Suddenly Saren's barriers lit up as the sound of rapid gunshots filled the air. Bullets fired from the foliage impact and quickly lowered the Turian's defences as Saren threw himself to the ground and rolled over, swapping to his pistol and returning fire at the unseen shooter. The human woman quickly dove into cover as bullets flew overhead and began to add her own shots to the barrage as Saren tried to spot the first shooter.

"Scratch that," Saren shouted into his communicator, "She has backup!"

" _Copy, we're closing in. Stand by._ "

A figure suddenly crashed through the foliage close to Saren and slammed into him hard enough to knock the Turian over. He saw a pair of red glowing eyes and the glint of a blade descending towards him. Saren grasped his assailant's wrist, stopping the blade a mere inch from his right eye and raised one leg up before kicking the figure back. The figure rolled and came up standing on both feet as Saren did the same thing.

This newcomer wore a long dark coat over what looked like a modified version of the basic human armour model. Their head was covered by a helmet with two red eye shaped visors and a nozzle on the lower section similar to that of a Volus' mask. In one hand they grasped a knife, resting their thumb along the length of the hilt while their fingers wrapped around the section closer to the blade as they positioned their arms at chest level in a stance which Saren recognized as a knife fighter's pose.

Saren immediately prioritized this newcomer, not even caring that his original target was scrambling away through the trees. He reached down to his left thigh as a compartment slid open, presenting the hilt of a monomolecular twelve inch blade which he extracted while assuming a stance of his own. Adrenaline rushed through the Turian's veins as the roar of a pair of thrusters swept in and a search light began to illuminate the ground around them.

" _Cabal Arterius, what is your position? Repeat, Cabal Arterius, what is your position?_ " Desolas demanded through the communicator, but Saren was too fixated on the blade wielding human before him. " _Damn it Saren say something!_ "

Suddenly the human lunged forward with speed that caught Saren off guard. The weight of their coat and cumbersome looking armour had made him believe that the human would use a more grounded, defensive style instead of fast and aggressive. Despite this initial surprise Saren managed to easily lean back out of reach of a strike aimed at his throat while side stepping and rotating to keep his front to the human as they circled one another. The human appeared to be testing Saren's defences, jabbing at him while focusing mainly on his exposed throat and face.

After allowing this to go on for several moments Saren counter attacked, striking with a frontal kick to the human's torso strong enough to stagger the masked warrior and then followed up by launching himself forward and leaping past the human while twisting his body and jabbing his blade down towards the junction where their shoulder met their neck. The human reacted just as quickly as Saren had before, dropping to the left and rolling away fast enough that Saren's blade just barely pierced their suit and drew first blood by nicking the skin. If the human had been a half second slow they would have had the knife buried into their spine.

Saren gave chase, but the human's leg swung up and struck the knife from his grasp as the human flipped themselves back into a standing position just as the spotlight settled on his position. The red visors turned to the sky in time to spot a Turian gunner leaning out the side of a gunship before a hail of mass accelerator fire rained down on the human. Fortunately for the warrior his suit possessed barriers which deflected the odd stray round while he dove for cover.

Saren leapt back, propelling himself backwards while coated in a biotic aura right into a tree and reaching up to grasp a thick branch with one hand while he tapped his communicator with the other.

"Hold fire!" He shouted. "You have friendlies and hostiles in close proximity; check your damn targets next time!"

The fire ceased, and Saren could see his brother Desolas behind the gunner, scanning the ground with his eyes as the human knelt behind a tree to stay out of the illuminating glare of the search light. Desolas made a gesture, and two Turian soldiers leapt out of the side hatch and triggered their propulsion packs to slow their descent before they landed on the forest floor, rifles in hand. It was only at this point that the human made himself know, striking from behind at one of the soldiers by cutting into the unarmoured back of his right knee. The Turian gave a muffled yelp and toppled over while the other turned only for his weapon to be kicked away; he managed to grasp the human's knife hand and stop the weapon short, but Saren spotted the armoured warrior reaching for something else at his belt...

"Look out!" Saren shouted and launched himself from the tree as the human produced a handle almost eighteen inches in length which suddenly sprang a glowing blue blade. Before the young Cabal even hit the ground the human sliced up through the soldier's elbow with the short axe-like weapon, causing the Turian to howl in pain as he looked at the charred and bloody stump of his limb before the human followed up with a slice to their neck, easily severing it.

Saren's feet touched ground as the soldier's helmet covered head rolled away, and he quickly lashed out with a blast of pure force that sent the human flying back. They slammed into a tree and flopped to the ground like a boneless fish while two more Turian soldiers dropped from the hovering ship overhead.

"Tend to him," Saren ordered, pointing the two newcomers to the soldier with the injured leg, "I will deal with the human."

One of them scoffed. "The fringe on this one, tossing orders our way."

It occurred to Saren that he was about to deal with the hostility that existed between Cabal units and non-Biotic soldiers, but then the second of the pair slapped his partner on the back of the helmet.

"He outranks us, now follow orders and don't act like a child." The second soldier scolded his companion, already crouching down to tend to the wounded Turian as Saren stepped towards the fallen human.

Along the way Saren spotted the weapon that the human had unleashed laying among the twigs and leaves. He picked it up and examined the handle, but could find no way of activating it and igniting the blade of blue energy again. With a shrug the Turian kept the object in hand and walked towards the human as they began to get back up. Saren quickly rammed his foot into the side of the human's leg, dislocating it and causing a strangled groan of pain to escape from the human as they collapsed again.

"I think that is enough of that," Saren said with a satisfied smirk.

"Saren!" He could hear Desolas call out from behind, but didn't take his eyes off of his defeated adversary until the General was at his side. "You did it! Excellent work."

Saren shook his head and looked at Desolas. "No. There was another human who I pursued from the camp. This one came to their aid, so I would not treat this chase as over while there may be more hiding out in these woods."

Desolas opened his mouth to respond only to be cut off by an explosion from up above. He pulled Saren down as the gunship overhead began to spin, the left main thruster taken out and the gunner falling from his perch with a cry. As the ship crashed through the trees nearby and slammed into the ground the gunner struck a branch and then landed not far from the other Turians who were keeping low. Another larger explosion erupted as the gunship's fuel lines caught fire moments later, deafening both Arterius brothers.

When Saren regained his senses he found himself laying on his side and his vision heavily blurred. He blinked and shook his head as a shape stepped into view near the wounded human and knelt, picking the form up and carrying it away. Saren caught a view of another pair of glowing red eyes before the figure vanished into the curtain of rain and shadows beyond the Turian's vision. Moments later something began to nudge him, a pair of hands gripped his shoulders and turned him onto his side to reveal Desolas, who appeared to be bleeding a bit but was otherwise in good health. He was shouting something...

"...en...aren... _Saren!_ " He bellowed, "Saren, are you alright?!"

Saren coughed and tried to sit up. "Yes," He wheezed, "I'm alright, but the human, they-"

"I'll have reinforcements pursue," Desolas insisted, helping his younger brother up. "We won't be able to catch them on foot, not with that ship of theirs on sight." He looked up and raised his Omni-Tool, sending off a beacon to an approaching trio of gunships.

"Ship?" Saren looked around, trying to spot the vessel that Desolas was referring to.

"I saw it, only briefly." The General explained. "It hit my transport, and I bet it's moving to pick up its soldiers. Let our pilots handle this now, Saren, this fight just left the ground."

Xxx

A few hundred meters away from the crash site, a Mark II Vertibird rotated its thrusters upwards by ninety degrees as it slowed down and descended into a clearing. Three shapes made their way into view: Eva-having now discarded her helmet to reveal a head of blonde hair, her saviour, and the human who was now supporting the wounded man. The latter two wore matching uniforms as part of their mercenary group, the only difference being that the man who had come to Eva's assistance had less armour on his.

The Vertibird set down, and a side hatch opened to reveal another man clad in a suit made from salvaged Elite Ranger equipment and modern armour. He beckoned them up a short flight of stairs and helped the wounded man inside.

"We're in," Eva said to the pilots, "Get us up!"

The main pilot gave her a thumbs up and began to raise the Vertibird back up while the side hatch was closed. The thrusters rotated to propel the ship forward, and it rocketed away from several alien ships that had likely come to avenge the one shot down by the Vertibird.

"Is Ben alright?" Eva asked as she joined the circle forming around the wounded man and helped to remove his helmet, revealing a basic human with fair skin and dark hair that had been cut short. His face was coated in a cold sweat and he was breathing heavily.

"Leg," The man, Ben Hislop gasped, grasping his injured appendage. "My leg!"

The other masked man knelt and pushed the others aside. " _Out of the way._ " He ordered, and began to carefully remove Ben's boot and cut through the fabric of his suit's leg section while Eva removed armour plating. The process caused Ben some pain, but soon his leg was exposed up to the mid thigh so that the group could work on treating his injury.

" _Stim-Gel and Med-X._ " The masked man held out one hand and gestured with his fingers for Eva to hurry. She tore a med kit built into the wall of the Vertibird from its place and scavenged through it for a Stim-Gel Injector. She pulled one out along with a hypodermic filled with a powerful pain killer known as Med-X. She handed both to the masked man and helped the other mercenary to hold Ben down.

The masked mercenary gripped Ben's head with one hand and carefully positioned the Med-X, injecting it into his neck. He waited until Ben began to relax before moving down to the injured leg and injecting the Stim-Gel. It would not mend the injury completely, but it would cut down the recovery time down from several weeks to a few short hours. Stim-Gel was the successor to Stim Paks, created as a universal medication to treat anything short of the most life threatening injuries requiring surgery.

" _Set a splint for him until we get back home._ " The masked mercenary ordered and walked to the back of the Vertibird as it shuddered, muffled explosions erupting outside past the layer of protective armour. " _And give me the aft gun._ "

The co-pilot flipped a switch, and a set of turret controls were revealed in the walls near the back of the passenger compartment. The mercenary grasped one of these and took control of the starboard turret that unfolded on the outside of the central fuselage. He turned it on the pursuing alien gunships and locked onto the closest. He squeezed the trigger and heard numerous 'thuds' as high explosive shells were ejected at high speeds, several striking the gunship only to detonate against the protective barriers.

" _Eva, I need a second gunner._ " The mercenary called to the front where Eva had finished setting Ben's leg in a splint.

Eva glanced at the other man tending to Ben. He nodded and pointed to the back while saying, "I'll watch him. Go!"

She rushed to the back and grasped the other set of turret controls, and within a minute brought down the first gunship by tearing open the cockpit and reducing the pilot to a spray of blood and meat chunks. The other two moved off to the Vertibird's flanks to avoid being caught in the fire of both turrets and resumed their efforts to hit the air craft's thrusters.

" _Ammo?_ " The masked mercenary asked.

"Down to just over half," Eva responded, "You?"

" _Less than half._ " He grunted and looked towards the cockpit. " _ETA to New Taiyuan air space?_ "

"On the route we're on it'll take about fifteen minutes!" The pilot responded before the Vertibird shuddered violently. "And our barriers are collapsing! We can't keep this up!"

" _We need to change things up._ " The masked mercenary decided, and beckoned to the man tending to Ben. " _Take over here Wilson, I have an idea._ "

"Hislop shouldn't be left alone in his state." The man, Wilson, protested.

" _And we shouldn't be shot out of the air in his state,_ " The masked mercenary responded, " _Now take the damn controls and maybe we'll live long enough to get him some real help._ "

With a sigh the Wilson rushed to the back and took over at the starboard turret while the masked mercenary walked to the middle of the compartment and knelt, tearing a panel away to reveal an onboard arsenal. He reached down and unclipped one weapon that actually dated back to the days when mankind had still been confined to its birth world. It was large enough that it had to be set across his shoulder and had a modified guidance system attached to its side.

" _Aft hatch, now!_ " He barked, and the co-pilot pulled a lever which lowered the aft door, allowing the masked mercenary to crouch by the opening and set the missile launcher on his shoulder, taking aim. " _See what I told you, Annabelle? I do show you all the exciting places..._ " (1)

He locked onto one of the gunships, the one trailing them from the right, and squeezed the trigger. Smoke exploded from the aft section of the weapon designated 'Annabelle' and a projectile rocketed away, leaving behind a trail of smoke as it shot towards the gunship and exploded against its barriers, causing them to overload as several high explosive shells struck it in quick succession and overwhelmed them. The gunship's armour was torn away in several sections, causing smoke to billow from it as it veered off.

" _Two down, one to go._ " The masked mercenary chuckled before spotting the third gunship moving off, its pilot clearly aware of the danger now. " _Scratch that, we're clear._ "

Eva sighed in relief as the aft hatch closed, and moved back to where Ben lay. "Ben, can you hear me? We got away." She said, grasping one of his hands.

Ben cracked one eye open and smiled a bit. "Next time try _not_ to end up in distress, Eva, it's not setting a good example for all those fine Alliance women."

Eva snorted and rubbed Ben's head while the masked mercenary knelt next to them and began to unclasp his own helmet. He lifted it away to reveal brown hair that was only beginning to gain streaks of grey and blue eyes combined with tanned skin that was rough from prolonged exposure to the elements. He hadn't shaven in almost a week, allowing a layer of facial hair to begin growing in.

"Well, on the bright side you got to play the big damn hero again," Ben joked dryly, "Should'a remembered only you get to save peoples' bacon around these parts, Jack."

Jack Harper, known throughout Alliance space as 'The Ranger', smirked and squeezed Ben's hand. "Damn straight, Ben. Now you just lay there and try not to break anything else and I'll see about getting a pretty 'Alliance type nurse' to look at your leg when we get back to New Taiyuan."

"Wait," Ben reached into his belt, "You got the other charges set, right?"

Jack nodded. "Eva's distraction paid off. I managed to plant all fifteen charges at key points and tuned them to your detonator's frequency."

Ben grinned despite the pain from his leg and whispered as he flipped open the top of the detonator with his thumb, "Good."

He pressed down on the red button.

Miles away from the Vertibird, the alien camp was engulfed by numerous explosions. Charges had been set among several landing fields and motor pools where air craft and armoured vehicles were gathered. At first only several gunships and tanks exploded into flames and shrapnel, but those closest to them soon suffered from ruptured fuel tanks and set off a chain reaction. The same scene of destruction witnessed earlier was repeated in as many as five other areas of the alien camp. Dozens of the avian beings were caught in the blasts and incinerated while others were torn apart or sent flying.

For the mercenary group known as the Frontier Rangers, this day had been a complete success.

For a Turian General, this was nothing short of humiliation.

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnaught** _ **A'kalez**_

 **Cell Block**

When Kravos received the news of what had happened down on the planet's surface he had been in the middle of speaking with one of the human prisoners, attempting to expand the Translation Index by way of displaying pictures and having the human state what it was in their language. So far he had only managed a few dozen individual words, and completing even a partial index would take upwards of a week. Other roadblocks were the condition of the prisoners, many of whom were exhausted and falling asleep in their cells by this point.

"Take her back to her cell," Kravos ordered the guards, who escorted the human from his new temporary office. Now that he had some privacy he opened his Omni-Tool to read the new alert that had popped up in his message box. As his eyes scrolled over the new information he blurted out loud, "Spirits!"

The humans had executed a covert sabotage operation right in the heart of the Turian encampment, destroying valuable hardware and killing a little under a hundred soldiers with planted explosives that had set off numerous chain reactions. Almost three times Turians as many had been injured to the point of requiring evacuation and another two hundred had received lighter injuries based on the reports.

Almost six hundred soldiers were out of the fight before it had even truly started, killed in a way that had deprived them of a dignified death, the chance to stand on their feet and fight for their lives.

Kravos slammed one fist down against his desk with a growl, cursing the humans responsible, the General who had led these brave soldiers to their deaths...himself for his own part in this travesty. The young Captain groaned and let his upper body collapse across the smooth metal top of the desk, hands gripping his head as Kravos took several deep breaths.

With every passing hour since entering this system all he had wanted to do was collapse onto his cot and pass out for a few hours. Everything that had happened since the incursion that had triggered this whole mess weighed heavily on Kravos, and each Turian life extinguished only served to amplify the guilt he felt. It was like a mountain was pressing down against him and only growing heavier with each passing second, penning him in and keeping him from any hope of escaping this nightmare. The only thing that kept him going at this point was the faint hope that Admiral Trisun might restore some measure of sanity to this mission.

A knock at his door snapped Kravos back to reality. He shot upright and straightened himself out before calling out. "Enter!"

The door opened, and the two guards stepped back inside with the last two prisoners who had yet to be questioned. One was a Ghoul with deep red tinted flesh (if that's what you could call it) and wore a dark coloured robe of some kind while the other was a human male who wore a similar attire that was colored black and red.

"I said I'm only interviewing one at a time." Kravos stated firmly, glancing down at his computer.

"Understood sir, we just thought we'd save some time by having the other one on hand for when you're finished with the first." One of the guards responded, forcing the younger human to sit down across from Kravos by placing a hand on his shoulder. "You've been at this all day, if we can spare you a few minutes of waiting it's a little more time you'll have to rest up."

Kravos appreciated the thought, and decided to overlook what was technically a violation of his orders. "Very well," He said, "Let's begin."

Xxx

Elder Thompson watched as the alien conjured his strange holographic tool and tap a command into it. After several moments the alien looked right at the young scribe sitting across from him and cleared his throat before speaking in barely passable English.

"You. Hear. Me?"

The scribe glanced at Thompson nervously only to cringe as the guard tightened his grasp on his shoulder. The young man nodded quickly and hastily responded, "Yes! I hear you."

"Good." The alien officer nodded before turning the holographic screen of his computer to face the scribe. "Name."

"Uh...Scribe Hector Palladino-" Hector cringed again and gasped as the guard dug his fingers into his shoulders. "What?! You wanted my name!" (1)

The alien officer said something and gestured to the guard, who eased his grip on the young man. The officer pointed to the screen. "Name. This."

On the screen was the image of several seemingly random objects. At first Hector and Thompson thought that they were weapons or pieces of technology that the aliens had captured during their siege of the _Chairman_ , but instead they were...shapes, just random shapes.

"Uh...triangle?" Hector pointed to the shape that the alien had indicated.

Immediately the officer activated his tool again and spoke several words before repeating what Hector had said. This process was repeated several more times, soon moving on from shapes to objects such as a ball, a shirt, a pair of trousers, a medical kit and even a pair of glasses.

After recording almost thirty different words from Hector the alien officer appeared to be satisfied. He began to speak to the guards before the door flew open and another alien stormed in, barking something that neither Thompson nor Hector could comprehend.

Xxx

"That will be enough, Captain!" The newcomer growled.

Kravos shot to his feet. "What is the meaning of this?" He demanded, "Can't you see that I'm in the middle of a delicate procedure?"

"What you're in the middle of doing is wasting time that could be spent gaining valuable information on the enemy's ground assets." The Turian was a Lieutenant, but Kravos realized upon examining the markings of his uniform that he was from Desolas' staff, all of whom were supposed to be down on the surface. "I speak with the authority of General Arterius on this matter, Captain, and in his name I order you to transfer custody of your prisoners to me so that-"

Kravos stormed around the desk and gripped the Lieutenant's shoulders. He slammed the younger Turian against the wall and growled, "Don't you dare command me, Lieutenant. General Arterius is not here. This is Admiral Trisun's flag ship and I speak with her authority when I tell you to get the hell out of my office and allow me to continue my work!"

The Lieutenant shoved Kravos back and dusted his uniform off. "General Arterius has overall command of this expedition, Captain Pridius. His authority outstrips Admiral Trisun's, and he has commanded that any humans captured alive during the siege are to be transferred to a ship of his choice for interrogation."

"I will let that happen when the Shamed Spirits claw their way out of Arterius' ass and slap him for the sheer gall he's instilled in his subordinates." Kravos countered. "These are my prisoners, not his, and if you want to take them then you'd best have a whole company backing you up, boy."

"What I have is the authority-"

"To blazes with his authority!" Kravos thundered, "If he wants these prisoners then he'll have to come up here and take them himself, and he'll have to go through me and the Admiral to make it happen."

The Lieutenant growled, clearly losing any semblance of patience that he ever had to begin with. He pushed past Kravos and gripped the human, Palladino while replying. "It's your funeral then Captain. The moment Desolas hears of this insubordination he'll have your rank. In the meantime however, you will abide by his command and allow me to at least begin interrogation on this one now that you're finished with him."

The human cried out as the Lieutenant attempted to wrench him from his seat. He gripped the offending wrist and tried to pull free while the Ghoul growled and moved forward only to be pulled back by the guard positioned behind him. Kravos tried to get between Palladino and the Lieutenant, grasping the latter's arm and barking out an order that was lost among the raised voices as the office slowly became the sight of a chaotic struggle.

Xxx

Palladino could feel his arm being wrenched from its socket as the two aliens fought over him. He had no idea what had triggered this argument, all he knew was that he had been dragged right into the cross fire and this newcomer clearly was not as civilized as the officer who had questioned him.

Reacting on instinct, Palladino bit on his own glove and pulled until his hand was free. Thompson spotted this and managed to break free of his captor, lunging forward despite his wrists being cuffed behind his back.

"NO!" The Ghoul shouted, but was too late to stop Palladino from setting one hand on the exposed face of the alien gripping his arm. At the same time the alien officer shot one hand out and grabbed Palladino's...

And both aliens immediately began to howl in agony.

Xxx

 _One moment Kravos had been in the midst of dealing with the up-jumped helped sent by Desolas and trying to keep him from harming the human...what was his name again, Palladino? The next moment he found himself experiencing a pain that could not be equalled by a thousand days of continuous combat and a thousand nights of borderline fatal hangover induced headaches. He was plummeting through darkness with images flashing before his eyes._

 _He was running across a grass covered ground, down a slope towards where his mother was putting a leash on his pet Caessor (2), ready to return home._

 _Then he was standing in the wide open and walled off front yard of his family estate, ducking under the training stave held by his appointed instructor. Kravos parried an attempt to strike at his extended left leg and twisted around the handle of his weapon to try delivering a kick to the older Turian's midsection only to be grabbed in mid leap and throw several feet away. He quickly scrambled back into a fighting stance, knowing the consequence of being too slow..._

 _And then Kravos was standing in line with hundreds of other young Turians. They had undergone training and were now being dispatched to serve their mandatory tours of duty. As crowds waved in farewell to the countless young soldiers marching aboard shuttles he caught sight of his parents in the crowd but couldn't bring himself to wave back._

 _The scene changed to a hazy and darker setting where the air was choked with dust and shrapnel fell all around as artillery mortars struck all around. Kravos was pressed in the crater left by one such detonation next to another Turian, to whom he served as spotter. The sniper cursed as his rifle overheated and held it out to Kravos, who was cradling the second sniper rifle and quickly swapped it for the overheated weapon. The sniper lined up his next target only for the crate to suddenly become consumed by an explosion of dust and rock fragments, deafening Kravos and leading him to be unaware for several moments of the fact that the sniper had just been reduced to past not three feet away from where he lay._

 _Hospital stays, redeployments, reassignment to a ship, promotions and finally receiving the Valor._

 _Kravos' entire life flashed by faster than he could comprehend it..._

 _All he could do was scream as the darkness retreated and the light came flooding back in to burn at his exposed conscience._

Xxx

The experience had only lasted a split second before Thompson slammed into all three individuals, knocking them to the floor and causing Palladino to relinquish his grasp on the Turian officer. The guards jumped into action and pulled both humans up, slamming them face down against the floor close by and securing them while calling for backup.

Thompson turned and glared at Palladino, who was busy having his nose squished against the metal plating. The stupid boy had just given away an ability that most people in the Alliance remained unaware of and he'd probably fried the brains of two aliens in the process. The duo had been the victims of a telepathic assault on their minds, but damage caused by these mental attacks were short term as long as the span of the attack itself was brief...but nobody had ever tried such a thing against a non-human.

As Thompson was forced to his feet and dragged from the office he could only think of how it would be a stretch trying to explain the existence of tactile telepathy when he could barely even ask where the bathroom was to these aliens. (3)

Xxx

 **New Taiyuan**

 **Southern Sector**

It had been easy for Ghost Leader and his team to reach the top of the perimeter wall from within. There had been a guarded elevator, but the stairwells traversing the height of the structure were unguarded save by a few cameras and laser tripwires that were easily avoided. Four Turians stepped out onto the exposed top of the human city's perimeter wall and were given a clear view of the interior from their perch. The entire top of the wall consisted of structures containing what appeared to be defensive cannons, and were connected by a n open walkway located on the interior side of the wall.

The Ghosts had wasted no time in executing their objectives. Each gun emplacement was contained within a protective structure of metal and stone that could open up to give it a full view and the ability to rotate three-sixty degrees; these structures made it easy for them to take their time in neutralizing any humans they found within and hiding their charges before moving onto the next. The key objective to this operation was to blow a hole in this section of the human perimeter large enough for the Hierarchy to begin its assault at first light. This meant that the gun turrets had to go, along with the numerous barrier emitters that the Ghosts encountered as they quickly went through twenty gun houses, taking barely a minute between each and splitting up so that they could hit four at once.

The only humans up here were the odd sentry and a few operators left at the control of every turret, but they were either avoided or silently dispatched with a slice to the throat or a twist of their neck. Soon the Ghosts had rigged every structure that had been indicated as part of the 'breach area' and converged near the middle of the affected area.

Ghost Leader was well aware that at any moment a sentry could choose to break from their path and step inside one of the structures where they would be met with the sight of several dead allies and a Turian explosive charge fixed to the base of the laser turret. If even one of the charges were disarmed the Hierarchy's offensive could be turned into a massacre. To avoid that the charges had to be blown as quickly as possible, and before that could happen his team had to vacate the area without triggering any alarms.

And there was only one way to get off this wall quickly enough.

He signed a message to his team.

 _Check. Objective achieved?_

A response was quickly received: _Affirmative._

Ghost Leader nodded and signed a command, curling his free hand into a fist and pointing his arm up before lowering it and then directing the same hand towards the exterior edge of the wall. He followed up by tapping his own left shoulder. In order he had told his men to move quickly, directed them towards the exterior wall and informed them that they were to use their thruster packs for a descent. (4)

The quartet moved into one of the gun houses and reached the open edge facing out into the countryside, which was covered by the curtain of darkness and pounding rain created by the thick clouds overhead and only illuminated by the occasional flash of lightning.

As Ghost Leader climbed up onto a chest high concrete wall placed to prevent someone from toppling out by mistake his radio buzzed. While this in itself was not startling, what came next made his heart skip a beat.

Instead of any audio code taught to him or his men, he heard screams and gunfire which echoed up from the base of the wall below.

" _We're under attack! Repeat, we're under attack!_ " Ghost 11, as indicated on Ghost Leader's visor shouted, " _There's something out here! I can't-uck._ "

Suddenly the Turian's vital signs flat lined. A moment of silence followed before an explosion erupted far below, a roaring flame that signalled Ghost 11's departure and cremated his remains beyond recognition in the blink of an eye.

Ghost Leader turned to his team and quickly swiped two talons across his visor.

" _All Ghosts, this is Ghost Leader, execute extraction contingency now!_ " He barked before throwing himself off the edge. " _Ghost Three, we're inbound to your position! Signal Shadow-1!_ "

" _Affirmative Ghost Lead,_ " Ghost Three responded between bursts of gunfire, which Ghost Leader could briefly see as he plummeted towards the ground below. " _Firing signal!_ "

As a red signal flare was launched upwards Ghost Leader and his team activated their thruster packs simultaneously, killing a good deal of their momentum as the ground rushed to meet them. All four of the Turians touched down, each of them crouching as they landed on the muddy ground. No sooner than their feet finished digging in did they leap to their feet and dash towards Ghost Three's position.

" _Where is it? It's gone!_ " Ghost Ten exclaimed, trying to remain calm.

" _I see Ghost 11,_ " Ghost Twelve announced, " _But I don't-wait! I see it! I-_ " His voice was cut off along with a burst from his rifle as his vitals flat lined just as quickly as Ghost 11's had. A second explosion roared as the Ghost's charge detonated, and if the attacker was quick or strong enough to survive the first explosion then there was little hope of it being caught by the second one now that it was aware of the danger.

" _All teams converge!_ " Ghost Leader ordered, engaging his thruster pack again to reach a suitable perch atop a three story building where he knelt and swapped his assault rifle for his sniper rifle. " _Where is the contact?_ "

" _I see it! It's moving east along the wall!_ " Ghost Ten shouted.

" _Then it's heading our way,_ " Ghost Leader stated as he peered through the scope of his rifle, " _We have no time for this, we need to reach Rally Point Menae._ "

" _This thing is following us!_ " Ghost Three informed his superior, " _If we don't deal with it now it'll probably take down half the squad by the time we evac!_ "

The logic in that statement could not be argued with. Whatever this thing was it had taken out two elite Infiltrators and was still mobile and moving much faster than any Turian could.

" _Very well,_ " Ghost Leader decided, " _We will deal with this quickly, but at the two minute mark we make for the Rally Point._ "

Just as their operation had been on the edge of completion everything had fallen apart in no less than sixty seconds. Two Ghosts down, something was picking them off one by one while remaining out of sight and the rest of the squad was as helpless as Quarians with a punctured suit to stop it. In less than two minutes a specialized Turian stealth drop ship would be landing a quarter mile away, and with all of their years of honing their bodies into living weapons the Ghosts could easily make it there within three...unless this new threat stalled them long enough. No matter how many got on board Shadow-1 would be departing within two minutes of landing, giving the Ghosts four to work with.

And in that span of time the humans guarding the wall would be scrambling in reaction to the flare and the gunshots.

A flash of movement caught Ghost Leader's eye. Down amidst the sludge clogged roads he spotted something dash into view and vanish as quickly as it appeared.

" _Optics, command: reverse three point five and hold._ " He quickly instructed, and activated his Omni-Tool, which displayed a recording captured by his helmet's on board camera. The figure appeared in the middle of the image, a blur of motion...but he saw a pair of large horns and a tail.

One word had been used to describe this specimen thanks to the captured humans: Death Claw.

" _Verified target,_ " Ghost Leader informed his squad, " _Hostile is a Deathclaw. Extremely dangerous in close combat._ "

Despite the fact that this creature had never been witnessed in action by a Turian, the autopsy didn't lie. These things were as strong as a Krogan if not stronger and were believed to be capable of ripping through anything short of heavy armour reinforced with tech-armour. If everything else about them was to be believed they could soak up more bullets than an armoured Krogan could unless the ammunition was specifically tailored for burning through armour, could easily cross any rough terrain faster than most species could and were adept climbers, making an elevated position a minor inconvenience at best.

Everything about them was only theory and speculation, so the medical specialists had listed every possible advantage and weakness this walking murder machine could possess with the expectation that several would be proven wrong and several more would come to light when a live one was finally encountered in the field.

Now there would be some real information on just how deadly they were, supposing any of the Ghosts came out of this alive.

" _Remain mobile and keep it in sight!_ " Ghost Leader added as he began to hop from roof to roof, " _Ghost Two, box it in with your team and cover Ghost Three and Ten. I'll take my team across the roofs and cover its flanks to keep it from bolting._ "

Four shapes darted across the roof tops, their thruster packs briefly igniting to propel them across any gaps they could not pass on their own. As they closed in on the target they passed over a scorched circle where one of their comrades had met his demise. The top of the wall was alive with search lights being directed down towards them...save for the section where the Ghosts had massacred every gun crew. A pair of aircraft could be spotted appearing over the top of the structure, descending towards the area where the flare had been fired from.

Given a few minutes there could be humans swarming through the entire area and atop the wall where they would locate the charges, and the Turians would be too preoccupied fighting for their lives...

However this would have only been an issue if Ghost Leader had elected to set the charges on a remote detonation instead of a timed detonation chosen to coincide with their original extraction plan.

Suddenly the perimeter wall was lit up with twenty individual explosions which shattered the gun houses from the inside and rained down debris both inside and outside the wall. A roar could be heard for miles, drowning out even the sound of rain striking the ground and deafening many who were too close and not wearing ear protection. One of the air ships closest to these explosions was hit and began to spin away as its right thruster was smashed beyond use, crashing somewhere inside the city wall. Along with the turrets contained within the gun houses there had been many barrier emitters positioned on the wall which were also lost.

In Ghost Leader's mind that was just one problem taken care of and a brief distraction provided as a bonus, leaving just one other issue that was eight to ten feet tall and had more capacity for shredding its victims than a pack of Varren.

As he cleared the final roof top he saw Ghost Two's squad positioned down below, each of them uncloaked and sweeping a wide and empty street with their rifles. Approaching them were Ghosts Three and Ten, who were looking around urgently as Ghost Leader and his team landed.

" _It's...gone?_ " Ghost Three stated aloud, a mixture of surprise and confusion evident in his voice.

" _Don't be so sure,_ " Ghost Leader responded, " _I'm calling it though: we make for Rally Point Menae. If we encounter it again we react appropriately, but I'm not playing Find the Pyjack while we're on the clock. Understood?_ "

Before anyone could respond a shape shot out of one of the side passages and slammed into Ghost Seven, who was closest to the shape's hiding spot. A startled shout turned into an agonized shriek as he and his captor vanished into the shadows of another building faster than any of the Ghosts could respond, leaving only a bloody arm torn clean from its shoulder socket with Ghost Seven's assault rifle still gripped in its hand. The Turian continued to howl in pain as the Deathclaw's talons cleaved through his armour as easily as tissue paper, tearing open his chest cavity by the time Ghost Two had reached the mouth of the alley and illuminated the creature.

It had the features of a demon straight out of a nightmarish fable. Twin horns large enough to skewer someone clean through the chest, exposed rows of razor sharp teeth, large spines extending out of is back, milky white eyes that pierced right through the Turian as its large hands held the bloody remains of Ghost Seven while more pieces were scattered across the ground at its feet. It wore some kind of armour which included a harness that appeared to be good for carrying weapons and equipment...

But what drew Ghost Two's attention was how its lips appeared to be curling up into a smile as it licked some blood from its lower jaw.

" _CONTACT!_ " Ghost Two shouted, and opened fire on the Deathclaw, which nimbly leapt up and dug its claws into the walls on either side of the alley. It proceeded to launch itself up further until it was able to pull itself over the edge of one roof top and disappear from view entirely. Ghost Two continued to fire up after it until his assault rifle overheated and he was left just gaping with barely concealed horror while his arms trembled visibly.

Ghost Leader pulled him away from the alley and shoved his subordinate over to the rest of the surviving Ghosts. " _Move!_ " He barked. " _Rally Point Menae, triple time!_ "

Each of the Ghosts were veterans of many pirate and slaver suppression campaigns. They had fought across dozens of worlds and faced down hundreds of enemies across the galaxy...

But this was no mercenary, not even a Krogan Warmaster...it was a monster. For all of their training they simply weren't ready to face a monster born from the darkest of myths and made real.

To their credit, even as they fled they retained some semblance of their training. They swept roof tops and alleys with their weapons and made sure not to stray too far from the rest of the squad for fear of being snatched up by the beast. They could hear some kind of deep laughter coming from the shadows, further urging them on as the creature taunted them.

Once the structures were left far behind them the Turians could see a red glow appear in the distance, acting as a marker for Rally Point Menae. The sight of this light at the end of the proverbial tunnel drove them to ignore any signs of pain or fatigue that they felt, some dropping their weapons in the rush...

But the Deathclaw was not done with them yet.

Barely fifty yards out from the red circle of light one of the Ghosts fell with a yelp, feeling a large hand wrap around his ankle. He snatched for his pistol and tried to turn to get a clear shot, his heart racing to the point of nearly bursting as he fired several wild shots.

Unfortunately none of them hit their mark.

Fortunately it got Ghost Leader's attention. He had remained near the back of the group to ensure his subordinates got out ahead of him. Ghost Five had strayed a little too far back moments ago and had been chosen as the next victim, a fact which probably saved Ghost Leader's life.

Turning, he spotted the Turian being pinned to the ground by one large hand while a massive shape looming over him was briefly illuminated by a flash of lightning, showing the hump backed figure of the Deathclaw raising its other arm to strike down on its captive.

" _NO!_ " Ghost Leader roared as he gunned his propulsion pack and charged forward, firing his assault rifle at the Deathclaw. This proved to be distracting enough to make it stop in its execution and stumble back, raising its arms to protect its face while Ghost Leader hopped over the prone form of Ghost Five, who was winded and traumatized but thankfully unharmed. The younger Ghost had a front row seat to watch his boss charge straight for the Deathclaw, firing his assault rifle until it was overheated.

" _Keep moving!_ " Ghost Leader shouted as he tossed the weapon aside and dropped into a roll which saved his life from a wild swing of the Deathclaw's long talons. " _Get to the drop ship and don't you dare turn back!_ "

In the distance Ghost Five could see the lights of other human air craft closing in. They were perhaps a few minutes out at the most, but if the Turians were quick to board their drop ship they could still potentially escape...but it meant leaving Ghost Leader to stall this demon. In the end years of being conditioned to obey orders without question won out, and Ghost Five scrambled to his feet and rushed to catch up to the rest of the squad, leaving his commander to what would likely be his death.

Xxx

Shadow's Edge, known as Shadow to those who knew him, had been having fun for the first time since he had left Earth. The cradle world of humanity had its share of dangers which sated his bloodlust, but when his clan elected to move out into the stars he had been obligated to go with them even if it meant abandoning a life of excitement and daily adventure. For the sake of not embarrassing or compromising his clan he had made due with sparring and even the occasional encounter with Manifest thugs while working as a mercenary, but these aliens presented a whole new challenge to him.

His presence on the outskirts of New Taiyuan was a mistake, however fortunate it had turned out to be. When the alert had been sent out regarding the alien invasion, he had been out hunting in the hills and had only returned in time to spot alien ships landing in the hundreds where he had only just been minutes previously. After that Shadow had to navigate the terrain and try to find his way to one of the city's secondary entrances after finding the main ones sealed, and he knew no amount of pleading or bribing would open them with an alien army a few dozen miles away.

This had turned out to be a stroke of good fortune, as he now had three kills under his belt and was now facing an alien who appeared to have more balls than the rest of his kind. He had turned back to save a comrade in need, something which Shadow could respect, and was now taking Shadow on at close range-something that he would never find even back on Earth. Every creature instinctively knew to flee or fight from a distance, be they sapient or a mutated animal; the Deathclaw had established itself as an apex predator which even Super Mutants feared to combat after centuries of dominating regions of the American wasteland.

And for the first time in his life Shadow felt the thrill of fighting something with the courage to face him head on.

The alien nimbly rolled to its feet while grabbing another of its weapons, this time a shorter weapon comparable to a shotgun based on how it fired bursts of tiny projectiles which tore into Shadow's natural armour plating and even caused some measure of pain. Shadow snarled and struck out with his tail before the alien could get a second shot off, striking his foe and sending him flying several feet to the side. Shadow lunged forward and tried to bring all of his weight down on the alien only for his target to bring his legs up and roll back over one shoulder just in time to avoid being crushed between hundreds of pounds of pure muscle. Before Shadow could even recover he was met with an armoured boot to his snout, briefly disorienting him and giving the alien enough time to follow up by launching himself right at Shadow once again.

Only this time, the alien showed off one of its close range weapons. A flat black blade extended from its forearm and plunged into Shadow's neck, causing him to howl and grip the alien's arm to try and tear the weapon away, but he only grasped air. The alien had kicked off of him and landed on a few feet away, facing him with its bloodstained blade held at the ready.

Shadow set one hand over his injury and sucked in a breath...and then chuckled as he stood upright, towering over the alien by three whole feet.

"Yes," Shadow crooned, "Yes! A real right. A real warrior! Come on then, show me what you've got!"

The alien may or may not have understood what he said, but they seemed to comprehend his body language and tone. It adjusted its stance a bit as the red light behind it framed its armoured figure, only for the light source to slowly extinguish, plunging both combatants into darkness. Shadow's eyes were able to adjust easily, compliments of an optical implant he had received to compensate for his species' poor eyesight; because of this he spotted the heat signatures of the other aliens boarding what appeared to be a craft that blended in with the night.

When Shadow glanced back at his intended foe he realize that the alien had vanished, not even leaving a heat signature. (5) The Deathclaw sniffed the air and found faint traces of the alien's scent, but it was difficult to pinpoint his exact position or even hear him with the rain still falling hard enough to raise the nearby river a few inches overnight. While his optical implant did improve his vision it would be next to impossible to identify ripples in light distortion if the alien was using some of that fancy stealth gear that Shadow had spotted earlier while tearing through his three victims.

"Hiding, are we?" Shadow hissed, looking around. "And here I was ready for a real fight!"

Xxx

Not several feet away, Ghost Leader was concealed by his cloak, which was supplemented by his armour masking his heat signature. The Turian knelt and remained fixed in place as the Deathclaw began to turn about, scanning for any sign of him. As the beast turned away the soldier began to slowly inhale, his heart beating so fast that it practically provided a dramatic drum roll as he prepared to flex his wrist in just the right way to extend his concealed blade.

 _No!_

The Ghost relaxed his hand as the Deathclaw turned towards him again, its pale eyes staring right through him...allowing him to see that they possessed an eerie glow which even his visor could not make the Turian mistake for a trick of the light.

The briefing flashed through his head, focusing on an area which listed numerous forms of implants spread almost randomly throughout these humans and Deathclaws...

And on another part of the briefing regarding these gargantuan reptilians and their piss poor eye sight.

Now Ghost Leader had a plan far more thought out than simply lunging and praying for a fatal strike.

Xxx

"Coward!" Shadow howled, his tail flicking up specks of mud as he spun around. "Shamed be your bloodline, he who flees!"

He grumbled and let his tail flop to the ground in disappointment, his shoulders slumping as he cursed the alien for his trickery. Finally the young Deathclaw had found an opponent who he could really test himself against only for the blasted coward to flee at the first opportunity!

"That cuts it," Shadow muttered, "If I survive the month I'm going the hell back to Earth."

And in that moment Shadow's Edge experienced a sudden crippling pain that tore through his head like he had been stabbed through the skull, followed quickly by the world turning completely dark save for a blinking green dot in the lower right corner of his vision along with three words...

 **Reboot in progress.**

Xxx

The Overload had worked.

The Deathclaw reared back, clutching at its head as it howled and stumbled about blindly, flailing its arms and striking out with its claws. Ghost Leader waited until it was turning back towards him to make his move.

Coiling his entire body like a serpent ready to pounce, Ghost Leader lunged forward and aimed low, passing between the Deathclaw's legs and striking out at the exposed backside of its right leg with his blade. The beast toppled down to its knees, trying to regain its footing even as its foe shot back up and aimed a stab at the base of its skull. Unfortunately he had made a grave error in forgetting how its back was more heavily armoured, causing his blade to dig in and remain stuck several inches deep, but not deep enough to sever its spine or even penetrate its skull.

What it did succeed in was telling the Deathclaw where Ghost Leader was, and the creature spun and struck him away just as the Turian triggered a manual release which caused his blade to pop out of its slot. The blow sent him flying and shattered his visor, mainly because his helmet had made the brave sacrifice of being the Deathclaw's target and protected its owner's skull just enough that instead of killing him immediately all it did was leave him dazed and limp as a fish for several moments.

By the time Ghost Leader had begun to push himself back up the Deathclaw appeared to be recovering from the electronic attack against its eyes, which blinked repeatedly as it looked around, seeming to take in what little of the world could be seen in the ungodly weather that endured even in the midst of their battle. It turned its head and sighted Ghost Leader as the Turian managed to stand, half of his helmet's visor entirely gone and a huge dent in the side of the ceramic plating.

Gripping the helmet, Ghost Leader tore it from his head and tossed it aside, breathing heavily. He had to force his hand not to reach for any of his remaining guns, which would be about as useful as throwing rocks at this point. There was nothing standing between him and the reptilian mutant now, and said mutant looked to be excited in a way similar to how Ghost Leader had seen a Krogan grin like a child before a huge fire fight was sparked.

This fight was going to end in the next few seconds, it might even end before Ghost Leader realized he'd been mauled or dismembered. Part of him prayed for a quick end like that, to just be snuffed out too quickly to register what was happening and join with the spirits of his ancestors...but another part refused to allow this, refused to allow him to go quietly into the next world.

The Turian planted his feet and reached down to the section of armour covering his right thigh. With a single command from his Omni-Tool a compartment popped open, presenting the handle of a knife which he wrapped his fingers around, not unsheathing it yet. The Deathclaw tensed, its clawed feet digging into the ground as it lowered itself down into a half crouch.

A moment passed between the two, who kept their eyes locked on one another and waited for the slightest movement, the faintest sound besides the background noise of the rain, anything that would set them both off.

And it came in the form of a spotlight from an approaching Vertibird which illuminated both combatants, causing the Deathclaw to lunge forward with its jaws wide open.

The Turian screamed and threw himself right into the meat grinder.

Xxx

On the departing Turian drop ship, Ghost Two saw his commander's vital signs go offline and a signal confirmed that his charge had succeeded in detonating upon his death. The surviving members of the infiltration team remained still as statues even as the ship accelerated, heading back towards friendly air space. Four seats remained empty in the dimly lit compartment, four soldiers would never return home to their families...

Four friends had been claimed today.

Taking off his helmet, Ghost Two activated his Omni-Tool and accessed the drop ship's transmitter, using it to send a message back to the Turian base camp.

 **Operation successful. Human anti-air defences badly damaged in southern sector. Begin Phase Two.**

Xxx

Standing under a tarp erected atop the command post, Desolas Arterius received this message and felt a sense of satisfaction as he stared out at the distant lights of the human city. In spite of their best efforts and even managing to sneak a saboteur into Desolas' camp they had only managed to reduce the total amount of forces Desolas would be dedicating to the siege. Already the remaining air assets were being gathered while one of Trisun's cruisers moved into low orbit to deploy its fighter squadron to fill in the gaps.

The Siege of New Taiyuan would resume on schedule, despite the humans' resistance.

"This is General Arterius to all forward companies," Desolas announced, "Prepare to move forward. _Lauraeus,_ dispatch fighter support to the provided coordinates and have them begin their run." He turned and looked down at Saren, clapping a hand on his brother's shoulder as he added with an air of confidence, "We take the city tonight."

Xxx

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing files...**

 **File opened: PSYKERS**

 **The phenomenon of psionic abilities has been traced back to the late 19** **th** **century, but physical evidence of its existence was only discovered in 2162 by the legendary Vault Dweller, who had discovered numerous test subjects who had been exposed to FEV by the Master, who possessed some measure of telepathic power enabling him to mentally assault minds from a distance. Since then there have been other examples of Psionic power achieved by means of mutation or other unique circumstances. Many Psykers are born as a result of FEV exposure while in utero, however the successful manifestation of psionic potential is incredibly rare (and even rarer if there are no unfortunate side effects). Most Psykers are limited to tactile or short range telepathy, but some have been shown to possess telekinetic potential among other abilities.**

 **Statistically only 1 in approximately 15 million attempts to create a Psyker intentionally are successful, and the Alliance has been unwilling to push for further FEV based testing even with the promise shown by Psionic soldiers. The Prolat however are working to create safer methods of replicating or enhancing Psionic abilities, and have managed to identify no less than a hundred thousand humans and four thousand Deathclaws with psionic potential. A rare breed of Super Mutant Night-Kin has been discovered to possess the ability to turn invisible, mimicking the function of a StealthBoy on a biological level.**

 **Most Psykers elect to join the military or law enforcement, being highly sought after for their abilities to gather information and detect danger within a close proximity. Outside of these however most Psykers are met with a social stigma, primarily because many people fear the idea that a person could read their mind at will, or even control it if powerful enough. As a result of this rampant paranoia many civilian Psykers wear Psionic inhibitors, but this does little to stem the tide of accusations against them.**

 **File closed**

 **Accessing Files...**

 **File opened: The Ranger**

 **The Ranger is a single mercenary operating throughout Alliance Space, primarily involved in anti-Manifest operations or hunting down fugitives for the Alliance. He leads a group of humans who wear apparel based heavily off of the Elite NCR Ranger armour, and go by the name of 'The Frontier Rangers'. The Ranger himself is primarily renown for his excellent marksmanship and leadership, and shows knowledge of both the Alliance military and government procedure alike. The Frontier Rangers are considered one of the most sought after Mercenary groups among private parties, but their existence remains mostly unknown to the majority of Alliance space.**

 **Filse closed**

 **Accessing Files...**

 **File opened: Deathclaw Tribes**

 **In the exodus from Earth, many tribes of Deathclaws have sought new grounds to hunt and build upon. Many have taken up work as mercenaries and are in high demand due to their natural physical capacity, and this has allowed many Deathclaw reserves to flourish as money is funneled back to them by members of their community. There are however still many incidents between Deathclaws and other species, including occasions where humans or Ghouls are harmed or even accidentally killed in the middle of what starts as a simple disagreement or where a Deathclaw and Super Mutant destroy an entire building before being neutralized.**

 **The largest Deathclaw population centers are located on Earth and Terra Nova (with populations of approximately one million and three hundred thousand respectively).**

(1)- Palladino, a reference to Eusapia Palladino, an Italian spiritualist who claimed to possess psychic powers.

(2) Caessor, a word derived from the latin words for 'dog' and 'superior'. I applied it to a canine-analogue species that would be a popular domestic pet for Turians.

(3)- Throughout every Fallout game there have been rare individuals with powers awakened either by exposure to FEV or other circumstances. The Master attempted to awaken psychic powers in humans through FEV exposure, and there have been other instances where humans have displayed psychic powers such as the Beast Lords who had telepathic control over Death Claws, the Forecaster who surprisingly did have genuine cognitive abilities and one Professor Calvert who was able to access minds within a limited radius.

(4)- I decided to try and describe some of the hand and arm signals that I describe the Ghosts using. While in my mind they are fluent enough to converse normally they also have basic tactical signals like the one described at this point. For example, when a Ghost taps their left shoulder it means to use their thruster packs for a long descent, and tapping their right shoulder means to use it to climb to a higher point.

Also...I almost forgot about this, but now for my responses to every review received since the previous chapter!

 **Timeraven117 – I've seen numerous instances where people try to compare modern ballistics to mass effect based weaponry, and in this case I think you're right. In hindsight I think I should have altered that little detail, maybe have the Turian equip some Tech Armour to fortify his defences.**

 **HikariNiwa – You and me both, but I think that in every Fallout game your character has some expertise with computers, allowing them to type in those numerous lines of code that result in an override that allows you to pick a possible password. If you already knew the password to your office computer before but just forgot it then the program might allow you to refresh your memory while making it difficult for unauthorized personnel to gain access to your files.**

 **RedRat8 – Ah yes, the Cloak is something I'm still debating internally on whether it was a good idea or not. However the Turians didn't just whip it up in a spur of the moment, I'd explained that they were basically just an altered version of the regular Disruptor Torpedo that was designed to have a wider dispersal, and as for why they used it: in my head a few Turian analysts would have theorized based on some analysis of captured plasma weapons that it would have an effect on ship to ship plasma weapons and decided 'hey, Desolas is going to make us go right at them either way, so we might as well give this a try and see if it'll work'. Of course they likely would have run some smaller tests and simulations, and maybe I should have added this in...I was a little lazy on that part admittedly.**

 **And then the sane turians. Actually that did occur to me, but for now Desolas is simply securing a foothold into human territory and basically using a shock & awe tactic with the idea of showing the Alliance how outgunned it is and force them to accept the Council's terms and then sort out which humans had fired on Kravos' ships. His actions, while controversial, would be seen as at least somewhat understandable if not justified by anybody who reads the details on the events leading up to the battle second hand. Until Desolas does something more extreme Admiral Trisun and Captain Kravos, while morally outraged at this act, will have little justification in contacting the Council. Also, with Desolas being a bit of a star General he'd have a lot of pull back at the Hierarchy, enough to keep any officials off his back until he's finished at Shanxi.**

 **And don't apologize for ranting, you were honest in your opinion and I value that. As for the main character...I shall not confirm nor deny anything.**

 **Genesis – Craaaaaaap baskets. I really should have double checked that one.**

 **reality deviant- Wish granted!**

 **Finnish Paragade – Logic wins once again it would seem. And thank you, I'm glad that you are enjoying this story!**

 **Guest – I'll try not to keep you waiting too long.**

 **OMAC001 – You'll find out in the next chapter my friend, and oh just you wait and see what I-I mean the Alliance has up its collective sleeve.**

 **Maersikai – Very well, I must admit that you are right. Most stories would have humanity on the way to contact the citadel by this point and here I am still in the middle of what is usually the opening curb stomp in most Mass Effect crossovers. I hope I can make this up to you in future chapters.**

 **ThePsychoticPyro – Okay, you got me on that Mutata one, I definitely should have thought that one out. As for the population...the number of colonies doesn't affect the population of a species, it just shows that a lot of people were desperate to get off of Earth to live on a planet that wasn't mostly a ball of nuclear ash. There would be a population boom at some point in the future but for now the population remains reasonably low just so the Alliance has some struggling to do.**

 **And as for the Deathclaws, with all the different circumstances in which Deathclaws have gained intelligence in the Fallout series I find it reasonable to assume that certain groups either survived or developed over time in other regions be it by mutation, FEV exposure, etc. Then we have the smart Deathclaws from Brotherhood of Steel Tactics, who if I recall survived to the end of that game and became a part of the Midwestern Brotherhood (who despite turning corrupt in this timeline wouldn't have wiped them out).**

 **Zach – I aim to please and shoot to thrill!**

Aaaaaand wow that was a long ass chapter.

Also, you may note that I'm experimenting in placing borders between perspectives/scenes in the middle of the screen instead of off to the left, just to see if that makes the transitions easier to spot and keep track of. Give me your opinions on that, if it's good/bad/bleh/etc.

On one final note for the next chapter I will try to include some time back at the Citadel with the Council, show another side to this whole conflict and how others react to it/find out about it.

And as always read, review and have a good time!


	9. Chapter 8: Fall of Shanxi Part 6

The Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

This chapter will focus primarily on the conflict between Owen Mason's team and Ian Mycroft's Manifest forces.

Xxx

Chapter Eight: Fall of Shanxi, Part Six, Manifest Destiny

 **Serpent Nebula**

 **Citadel Station, Council Tower**

 **Three days after Turian landing**

The Citadel was considered to be the heart of galactic civilization, a bastion from which the Council ruled all of known space save for the lawless Terminus Systems and a symbol of progress, equality and unity among races. It was a vast construct that had been left afloat amidst the great Serpent Nebula, just waiting to be found and colonized three thousand years ago by the Asari Republics and then the Salarian Union and many other races that had flocked to the beacon of order. The station was like a flower, with the ring shaped Presidium as its ten kilometer wide core and the Wards as its forty some kilometer long petals that contained vast cities populated by millions. The sheer size of the station generated its own gravitational pull via rotation and an atmosphere was maintained up to seven meters off of the ground in the Wards while the sealed Presidium was fully pressurized to accommodate any species.

Outside the office of Councillor Zenthis there were dozens of diplomats and officials from every race in Council Space exchanging pleasantries and casual conversation, going about their lives with little to truly worry about. That was one common trait that the Salarian Councillor had always taken notice of, no matter where he went save for a few key places like Tuchanka: people lived in a bubble of civilization and peace. They might take notice of certain issues or even acknowledge certain problems, but in the end they always thought that when the galaxy continued to turn they would always be there when it happened.

Sometimes Zenthis envied them for their naivety.

Zenthis had not been elected the representative of his entire species for being sociable or warm, but for the fact that he kept both eyes open and was undeniably a true believer in keeping the peace within Council Space by any means necessary. Of course he had his share of blood on his hands and his almost obsessive compulsive behaviour to remain at work combined with a healthy amount of paranoia left most people thankful for the fact that he was always consumed by his work.

The Salarian was considered an elder by his race, nearing his fortieth birthday after only a few years of serving as Councillor. He was ex-STG, like a good number of the Salarian Councillors were throughout history, but unlike many of them he still acted like an agent of the Union at times. Right now he was seated in his dimly lit office looking at a report delivered to him by an STG stealth ship located in unclaimed territories near the Skyllian Verge, much in the same way he would have done the same thing over a decade ago while monitoring numerous units spread throughout the cosmos.

Blinking his large dark eyes once, Zenthis leaned back in his seat and processed the information before him.

A massive Turian fleet movement authorized by one General Desolas Arterius, the Butcher of Pheldi and a star General of the Hierarchy; countless troop garrisons and even several Ghost and Cabal units being rerouted; and finally two of the Hierarchy's precious Dreadnaughts (one of them belonging to the famous Admiral Trisun) were commandeered for a mission that did not exist on any computer database. There was record of the initial reconnaissance mission to be handled by a single patrol fleet, which had not left the cluster since being deployed. The question that plagued the Councillor was 'why'

"Military drill?" Zenthis whispered before shaking his head, muttering under his breath at a mile a minute to convey the thoughts racing through his head, "No, no. Dreadnaughts a precious resource. Too important to waste on training exercise. Pirate suppression? Fleet large enough to secure five systems easily."

The Councillor stood up and began to pace quickly.

"No. Presence of Ghosts indicate extrinsic circumstance." Zenthis concluded, thinking every thought aloud now. "Only called for high priority missions. Infiltration and sabotage. Too many military assets for small skirmish. Too much manpower for pirate or slaver suppression."

The hooded Salarian rubbed his chin for several moments.

"Full naval mobilization," He decided, "But why? Sector uninhabited according to records..." He shook his head and returned to his console. "No, according to public records. Forgot. First contact. Nothing else to justify presence of Hierarchy."

At this point Zenthis realized that he had been speaking his thoughts aloud...again. It was an unfortunate habit that he and many other Salarians developed when too engrossed in their work.

"Ugh..." The Councillor groaned, "I have _got_ to stop doing that so much."

With that he left his office, ignoring any salutes or greetings from guards or diplomats as he made his way across the Council Chambers towards the offices of his colleagues, quickly going over what he knew of them both.

Councillor Tevos was young by her species' reckoning, but old enough to be considered an adult. She was good intentioned, but that covered a sense of pride and arrogance towards what she thought of as 'younger races'. She would never admit it aloud, she may not have even realized it; Tevos simply believed that the Asari, being so long lived and advanced as a society were more appropriate for leading the younger and 'unenlightened' races. Despite her flaws she knew how to be a mediator on all matters, the voice of reason who would try to bring raging tempers back down to ground level and was second to none in the area of managing a galactic economy. She was cocky but knew better than to ever show it except in the most subtle ways, which only the most well tutored or keen eyed would be able to pick up on in a conversation.

Councillor Sparatus on the other hand was...not as patient or diplomatic as his colleague. More than once Zenthis had found himself exchanging verbal blows with the Turian on numerous matters of military and economic importance. The young Councillor, who was only a few years younger than Zenthis was a military man like every Turian to ever born within the Hierarchy, and he was far too used to his authority getting him what he had wanted. In spite of this however he was efficient in his work, a very grounded individual who focused on the big picture, looking at the present rather than pondering the past or worrying for the future.

Sparatus always knew what the stakes were when they were presented to him and he wasted no time in responding, such as when the Batarian Hegemony had been accused of funding yet another organized mass pirate raid against an Asari colony; the Turian had, with information provided by Zenthis, quietly confronted the Batarian Ambassador and made it clear that if such an event occurred again it would not be a Council sanction that the Hegemony would answer to, and then had the official responsible for arranging the attack mutilated and left in the Batarian Chancellor's bedroom as proof of his resolve. The message had been received and correctly interpreted: it would not be an invasion that the Hegemony faced, as that implied an official declaration followed by a tedious war of attrition which would drain the Council Races for several years. Sparatus and Zenthis had quietly agreed that such a conflict was unacceptable and wouldn't entertain the idea of giving the Hegemony a fair fight if pushed far enough.

Zenthis stepped past a pair of Turian guards and quickly opened the door to Sparatus' office. He shut the door behind him and stood as still as a statue for several seconds before the Turian even realized that he had entered, glancing up from his own console with a surprised expression following a slight jump in his seat.

"Gah!" Sparatus released a breath. "Damn it, how many times have I told you to knock-"

"I need to speak with you, Sparatus." Zenthis interrupted as he sat across from his colleague. "What do you know about Relay 314?"

Sparatus blinked once and then opened his computer back up. "Let's see...ah, here. It was marked as being activated by an external source, and the Hierarchy had dispatched a patrol fleet to verify the validity of this claim and initiate first contact if deemed both appropriate and possible." He looked up from the screen. "A notable find, but we've had several of these in the past decade alone that turned out to just be smugglers or pirates seeking hiding places off of known star charts. What makes this one different?"

"The fact that the Hierarchy has begun transferring a sizable amount of its patrol fleets in the region to that particular relay's proximity." Zenthis replied as he opened his Omni-Tool and forwarded the data to Sparatus' computer. "See for yourself."

Sparatus looked over a map of the area showing fleet movements and a list of the battle groups reassigned to the relay. What caught his attention was the prioritization of not one but two of the Hierarchy's dreadnoughts, which were considered a priceless resource.

Zenthis deduced that the Turian did recall signing off on Captain Prinius' flotilla being tasked with the initial investigation/potential contact, but saw Sparatus' facial features shift in subtle ways to indicate barely concealed confusion and annoyance.

"This is..." Sparatus shook his head, "By the spirits, who would sign off on reassigning so many ships to a simple reconnaissance?"

"I took the liberty of looking into that myself," Zenthis stood up and strode around Sparatus' desk, reaching over to scroll down on the screen. "I believe you remember General Desolas Arterius, correct? He used his own authorization to gather these military assets together without having to seek the permission of the Hierarchy...or us."

He looked down at Sparatus as the Turian's eyes widened slightly, and at that moment Zenthis confirmed in his mind that his fellow council member was not in on these shady activities, and was possibly not even aware of them. This came as a relief to the Salarian, as such controversy was not needed on the Council.

Sparatus shot out of his seat. "I'm calling for a gathering of the Council," He declared, "And Primarch Fedorian will wish to be involved in this as well...along with the commanding officer any Council Fleet located close to Relay 314."

"I would recommend having General Arterius' authorization code locked out," Zenthis added, following his colleague to the door, "Until we are aware of what is going on behind that relay we do not need him calling for anymore ships."

Xxx

 **Shanxi System, Shanxi**

 **Bunker Vault 9**

 **Level 5**

 **Three hours after Turian landing**

"I found them!" Rice called out, focusing on several screens showing footage of a pursuit. "Mycroft is loose, and it looks like Campbell is in pursuit."

"Christ, the kid won't stand a chance." Parker picked up the plasma repeater and stormed towards the door. "Where are they going?"

"It looks like they're heading for an alternate exit...and I just hit the rewind and it looks like Mycroft's troops and Commander Mason and the others went through it." Rice reported, "You won't be able to reach it before they do."

Parker sighed, "Yeah...wait, what about that other person that Campbell mentioned?"

"Trying to find anything but-" Rice paused, "He's at the emergency exit too! I see him."

He pointed at the screen showing footage of the open security doors leading to the emergency exit. There was an armoured form standing in the middle of the passage, arms crossed and staring into the base.

"And Campbell's gonna run right into him while he's chasing Mycroft!" Parker realized and swore under her breath before running out of the office. "Keep track of them!"

Xxx

Flashes of red and green illuminated the blue tinted walls as General Ian Mycroft exchanged fire with Campbell, firing shots over his shoulder as he dashed down the corridor leading to the emergency exit through which Campbell's team had departed only a few minutes prior. The marine took cover around a corner before leaning out and firing off a few more bursts from his laser rifle, managing to strike Mycroft once in the shoulder and blast a metal pauldron away from the General as he ducked through a side passage.

"Fuck-come on already!" Campbell grunted as he replaced the energy cell in his rifle again.

He may not have been the best shot ever but Campbell swore that he was never this bad with a rifle. Then again the firing range didn't include targets that moved faster than what was humanly possible. Mycroft only remained in sight because he would stop to take cover from a shot or fire back at Nathan and sometimes mockingly wave or salute before vanishing again. It was almost like he wanted the marine to keep up with him...or like he was trying to bait him and didn't care if Nathan bit or not. The bastard was just toying with him, that much was obvious; but letting a leading member of Manifest escape was off the table from the start.

The corridor opened up into a wide room with two sets of open security doors, one marked as 'Containment Bay Omega' and the other as 'Emergency Exit'. Mycroft was standing in the open doorway of the latter, hands at his side and the same insufferable smirk visible on his face as he watched Campbell slow to a walk.

"Feeling winded, son?" Mycroft asked.

Campbell had the urge to give a biting response, but knew if he opened his mouth the first thing to escape would be an exhaled gasp as he regained his breath. The marine was nowhere close to being out of wind to keep up the chase, but Mycroft had made him sprint in full combat gear through several hundred meters of corridor while avoiding energy fire. This was comparable to a VR test back in training, only the rounds that hit him would actually hurt and even kill if they hit the right spot.

Mycroft shrugged as Campbell kept his rifle locked on him, "I get it, you're done talking." He nodded, "So I'll just-"

TSEW!

A laser struck the General in the chest and knocked him back a couple steps followed by three more bursts which finally knocked him on his back. Campbell lowered his rifle and let that light gasp of breath escape.

"Told you I'm sick of the fucking dialogue," Campbell spat on the floor by Mycroft's feet and moved in closer, keeping out of arm's reach in case the General was faking being vulnerable as he had before. "Looks like all that pontificating didn't save you in the end."

" _I would beg to differ, son._ "

The voice of the man he had just shot a few moments ago caused Campbell to quickly spin and scan the corridor leading to the emergency exit, and then the room behind him.

" _Don't worry yourself, I'm too far gone to cause you any harm._ " Mycroft continued, his voice coming from...his own mouth, only it sounded like it was being filtered through a speaker, " _I took advantage of my associate's distraction to make good on my escape, and I must admit that I'm surprised you actually opened fire. It seems not every Alliance dog is incapable of disobeying an order after all._ "

As Mycroft spoke, his body slowly began to rise back up. Campbell took three quick steps away from it and tried to fire his rifle, but a screen on the side lit up to indicate that the energy cell was empty...and that the weapon itself had overheated at the same time despite only four shots being fired ever since he had last reloaded (it took twelve successive shots to overheat and twenty four to run dry). He dropped the weapon and went for his sidearm as the form of Mycroft began to morph, becoming smaller and more slender while it struck out with an arm and hit Campbell in the ribs with enough force to break the ones that had been fortunate enough only to sustain fractures from his earlier fight and knock him back.

Campbell rolled with the momentum as he landed and placed himself into a crouched position. He winced and placed one hand against the area that he'd been hit in, wondering if he was doomed just to be thrown around like a rag doll in every fight he was in today.

" _I'll leave her to entertain you,_ " Mycroft added, his voice still coming from the mouth of the figure that had reshaped itself into the silhouette of a woman covered from neck to toe in battle armour. " _Make it quick, dear._ "

"Yes sir." The woman responded as dark hair formed on her scalp and a pair of red glowing eyes took shape. Her skin bore a metallic surface which shifted like it was made of water, leading Campbell to one conclusion: he was facing down an android.

Manifest may have been created with the goal of eradicating all non-human species, but it was willing to allow androids to have roles within its ranks and even a decent future compared to what awaited any Deathclaws, Ghouls or Super Mutants they got their hands on. This one must have been particularly high up to answer directly to Mycroft himself, and it looked like it had received quite the upgrade from its benefactors.

But what caught his attention when the metallic sheen faded to resemble regular skin was that this thing was built to resemble a face that every person in the Alliance knew.

"Shepard?" Campbell whispered, faltering in bringing up his sidearm for a moment as the face of Alice Shepard stare back at him.

The android smiled before a helmet closed in around her head. " _Oh, if I had a cap for every time that one of you morons say that._ " She shook her head and pulled a gleaming rifle off her back, the weapon unfolding in her grasp as she aimed it Campbell's exposed face.

Xxx

 **Shangri-La Valley**

 **Three hours after Turian landing**

"All clear," Owen waved one hand, signalling for Sergeant Scott and Lieutenant Sutton to follow him to where the caverns had finally opened up to reveal the fading light of a late afternoon. He motioned to a set of tracks that formed where the hard rock floor met a softer dirt path where the ground was easier to deform. "It looks like we're on the right track."

"Holy mother of..." Sutton murmured as she raised one hand to protect her eyes from the sun, having grown sensitive after remaining underground for long enough. She was able to regain her clear vision after a moment and beheld the paradise before her.

Shangri-La was considered off limits to deforesting, settlement or hunting; it had taken some persuasion just to make it open to camping. Because of this the trio were now staring out at a fertile and green valley with tall trees, the roar of several nearby waterfalls and noise generated by an abundance of native species. The path leading through the trees had been made and maintained by the Brotherhood only to allow an easier evacuation, but several feet beyond the tree line it vanished and there was only dense foliage and a true wilderness. The air was warm enough to make a little sweat form at Owen's hairline and the grass was wet beneath their feet.

"Shangri-La," Scott said aloud, lowering his weapon to his side. "Well damn if it doesn't fit the name."

"No time for sightseeing," Owen motioned forward and broke into a jog, "Keep your eyes open and weapons up. If there are more of Mycroft's troops out here I don't think they'll be expecting us."

The trio crept through the vegetation, keeping their weapons up and keeping to cover when possible, which was easy as a good deal of the plants came up to waist or chest height. The heat was beginning to get to Owen a bit, as he lacked the heat regulating attire of his subordinates, but he simply shed his officer's jacket and continued on.

"Hold up," Scott whispered through the radio, raising one arm with his hand clenched into a fist to stop Owen and Sutton, who were several feet behind the more armoured marine. "I just spotted something up ahead. Wait here."

Scott crouched, set his rifle on his back so he could switch to his combat knife and vanished into the foliage. Owen settled down on the ground and wiped away some more sweat from his forehead.

"Here," He turned and saw Sutton holding out a small water canteen, which he accepted.

Owen popped the canteen open and took a mouthful of water before shutting it and handing it back. "Much obliged, Lieutenant." He whispered.

"Anytime, sir." Sutton nodded, "...so, think this might be your big adventure?"

"My what now?" Owen looked at her.

"Your big adventure," Sutton repeated, "You know...like your dad's."

So that's what she was going on about. Owen sighed and turned away from her, setting his commandeered rifle across his legs. He shook his head after several moments. "No, I think it's going to be one traumatic memory if I ever get out of here alive."

Sutton tilted her head, "If?" She reiterated, "You seem to be doing a great job so far."

"And you seem to be under the impression that the ability to cope with these sorts of events so easily is hereditary," Owen drawled as he gave her an annoyed glare out of the corner of his eye, "I was on a regular scouting mission, just looking for new planets and relays to map out and then I could go home, maybe get sent after Manifest or some pirate group again. The last thing I wanted or expected was to run into some super powerful alien empire and end up fighting a fucking war." He looked ahead, searching for Scott. "I'm an armchair commander, Lieutenant, my place is on a ship. The fact that I managed to keep my head this long is a miracle and the fact that nobody from that escape pod has kicked the bucket is just downright divine intervention."

"Wait, hold on." Sutton interjected, waving one hand which she set on his shoulder. "Commander, everybody knows Manifest is to blame for what happened, and you've done a hell of a job even after what you just described. Sure you're better on the bridge of a ship but you took the initiative, you brought us to that bunker even when you had every reason to flee for safety and we captured Ian Mycroft himself. Sir...Owen," She corrected herself, "You might not be your dad, might not be your big power armour wearing brother, but you still didn't hesitate once today and things might turn out better for that...with the whole war thing aside."

Owen shook his head, but inside his mind he was considering her words. Just a couple days ago the world had been peaceful to some extent and he had a nice quiet posting on a scout fleet, and even after it had all come crashing down on him in several ways he was still on the move and giving orders like it was normal. His brother Alex led Brotherhood warriors into combat on a regular basis and would have done everything he had with greater ease, and their father Logan would have probably done it all by himself...

But Owen had done it, not them. This little fight might only be the tip of the ice berg compared to what would be happening in New Taiyuan once the aliens got around to invading the city but he had made a judgement call and it had paid off.

"Well..." Owen sighed. "Maybe things aren't quiet as shitty as I'd thought," He turned and cracked a ghost of a smile, "Thanks Sutton."

"Deborah," Sutton responded, "The name's Deborah."

Owen nodded, "Right, Deborah." He said, waiting a few moments before adding, "This is the part where we have awkward romantic tension, right?"

That last sentence caused Sutton to snort, barely choking on her laughter as she covered her lower face. Owen couldn't help but grin a bit at this before he looked ahead again, focusing on spotting either Sergeant Scott or anything else coming their way.

Another minute passed, and then two before Owen got sick of waiting.

"He's taking way too long," Owen muttered, "Cover me, I'm going to check."

He moved ahead without waiting for a response, moving at a crouch through the plants and keeping his rifle levelled ahead of him.

" _...thing he had on him, sir._ " A woman said, clearly wearing a helmet with speakers.

"Excellent work Sergeant, scour the woods for more of these mongrels." A voice with a southern drawl to it responded. "As for you, let's chat."

"Fuck...you." Owen heard Sergeant Scott gasp.

"Language," The other speaker said firmly before Scott gave a pained groan, "Now, how many more of you are out here?"

"A whole company," Scott replied, "You assholes attacked a Brotherhood base, do you think the Alliance wouldn't spare a couple hundred men to come and check?"

"With an alien fleet overhead? I think not," The other man responded as Owen peered through the bushes and spotted several figures milling about, cradling plasma rifles and trampling plants underfoot in their gleaming metal armour.

Owen was on the ground, one hand covering his stomach where blood was flowing between his fingers while his weapons lay in a pile close by. The form of a Manifest soldier lay a few feet away, throat cut and face up for all the world to see. Owen felt satisfied that the marine had at least taken one of the bastards down, but quickly devoted his mind to thinking of a way to get Scott out of this mess.

There were at least six Manifest soldiers now spreading out from where Scott lay, being interrogated by a man wearing a long white coat and two more armoured soldiers. Each of the soldiers had a rifle, and Owen knew it would take at least a few shots from his weapon to penetrate each set unless he got in close and cut through an unprotected section.

"So I will ask you again," The officer continued while pressing the tip of his side arm into the bleeding area, "How many others are with you?"

Tightening his grip on his rifle, Owen glanced off to the sides to mark the positions of the nearest soldiers while he slowly raised his weapon and lined up a shot with the officer's head. Peering through the sights, Owen exhaled softly as his finger slid into the trigger guard and began to apply just enough pressure to squeeze off a shot...

CRACK! A loud noise erupted close by, echoing through the woods before the officer's entire upper body exploded, splattering both Scott and the surrounding Manifest troops as they sputtered and called out in shock and horror.

"Contact! Contact-" TSEW!

The sudden gunshot had made Owen freeze up until the Manifest soldier standing closest to Scott began to speak. He quickly reoriented his rifle and squeezed off a single shot with some assistance from his VATS, striking the man's rifle from his hands. Scott seized this opportunity and snatched up the dead officer's sidearm, using it to fire at the second soldier still guarding him while Owen mowed down the first with several more quick shots.

Another cracking noise rang out as the Manifest soldiers attempted to react and was followed by a blossom of blood and bone fragments sprouting from the torso of one of the troopers as a single anti-vehicle grade round tore through his shielding and armour without slowing down. The same projectile went on to strike a man behind the trooper and knocked him clear off his feet-the man's life was only saved by his comrade's shielding, armour and body mass slowing the bullet enough for his own to barely absorb the damage. The rest of the soldiers began to shoot into the trees, setting branches and shrubs alight in their panicked fire while the mysterious sniper continued to fire away, picking off another of their number before one of them snatched the wounded Scott up.

The marine tried to bring his stolen pistol to bare on his captor only for a metallic gauntlet to close around his gun hand and squeeze hard enough to almost fracture bone, causing Scott to let out a pained scream while the power armour clad Manifest soldier rotated to bring the marine between himself and the general direction that the bullets were coming from. For a moment this strategy appeared to work, as the sniper ceased firing even when the other three surviving troopers regrouped behind their comrade and his human meat shield...

But then an invisible mass ploughed right into the middle of their squad.

One of the soldiers was slammed up against a thick trunk and gave a choked gasp as his body was crushed by the immense pressure being put on it, even his power armour failed to keep his organs from being crushed into paste by his attacker. Another of the quartet had been trampled by the attacker and was groaning as he lay in the grass, likely sporting several broken bones. The third had tried to fire on the invisible being, having managed to deduce its general location, only for Owen (joined by Sutton) to mow him down with a quick barrage of laser fire. This left the fourth and final trooper, the one holding Scott hostage.

"Stay-stay back!" The trooper held his own side arm to Scott's head as Owen and Sutton advanced into the clearing with their weapons levelled at him. "Drop your weapons or he's dead!"

An amused chuckle came from the space inhabited by the invisible being, who took this moment to appear before the trooper.

"That would be a very poor choice, little man." The being was a Super Mutant, only with skin of a pale blue shade instead of the usual orange, green or brown.

It...he was a Nightkin, a variation of Super Mutant that dated back to the days of the Master's Army and known for being extremely stealthy despite their bulk. This one appeared to lack the usual obsession with remaining invisible, as Owen hadn't met a single Nightkin who willfully revealed themselves when the situation did not require it. This particular Nightkin wore the uniform and armour of a Brotherhood Paladin and had a large buster sword hanging on his back, making it all the more amazing that he remained hidden for as long as he had.

"You back off, freak!" The Manifest soldier tried to put on a brave front, but not even his armour could hide how he was beginning to shake. "Take one step closer and I'll-"

CRACK!

The man's entire arm seemed to just explode, shattering into several pieces. The sniper had repositioned while the others had drawn the soldier's attention, and had lined up the perfect shot to place a bullet right through the man's bicep. As an added bonus, due to how the man was holding the gun to Scott's temple, the bullet exited his bicep and then passed through his forearm. The result was the limb being severed near the shoulder and just short of the wrist, causing it to fall to the ground in three pieces while the Manifest soldier howled in agony and dropped Sergeant Scott.

"I told you," The Nightkin smirked, and back handed the screaming man into a tree hard enough to make him crack his head against the trunk, silencing the man. "That was a very poor choice."

He then turned towards Owen and Sutton, the latter of whom tensed up instinctively but otherwise made no move to raise her weapon. After his eyes passed over Owen's face they seemed to relax, and the Nightkin lazily saluted with one hand.

"Paladin Grawk at your service Captain Mason," He introduced himself.

"You recognize me that easily?" Owen asked, not terribly surprised by this as it had happened many times before.

"It's hard not to when you're the spitting image of your old man." Grawk replied, "Hey Santos! Get your ass out here!"

"Alright! Alright! Give me a second, sheesh!" A man called out from the bushes, taking several moments to lumber into view carrying a large rifle across his shoulders. The man wore the armour of a Paladin like Grawk did, but was certainly human sized and had difficulty carrying both the rifle and a large case which he held by his side. "This stuff might be feather weight to me, but they're still awkward to carry man."

"Less griping, more saluting." Grawk replied dismissively as his companion dropped his burden.

"Yeah yeah," Santos waved one hand to the mutant before facing and saluting Owen. "Glad to see the Alliance sent us some help after all-wait, you're both navy and air force...shouldn't you be anywhere except on the ground?"

Sutton huffed and crossed her arms. "The other Manifest thugs we put down would beg to differ. And yeah, we're your backup."

"So one marine, a pilot and a starship Captain?" Santos demanded. "...we've been hosed, haven't we?"

"Uh, I hate to interrupt this touching moment of thanklessness," Scott said, sitting on the ground close by and cradling his broken hand to his still bleeding stomach. "But...for the love of God, would somebody give me some damn _stim gel?!_ "

"Sit tight you big baby," Santos replied and knelt by the wounded marine, producing a medical kit from a compartment in his armour. "Seriously, you marines have zero pain tolerance. _Oh no I'm bleeding my guts out! Oh no, all the bones in my hand have been crushed into splinters! Help me! Help me!_ " The Paladin shook his head. "Light weights."

Resisting the urge to crack a smile at Santos' unique brand of humour, Owen looked up at and addressed Grawk. "We heard about you two from a survivor we saved from an Enclave team back in the bunker. Is Inquisitor Grey with you?"

Grawk paused, narrowing his eyes as he looked down at Owen. "How do you know about her?"

Surprised, but not put off by the sudden aura of hostility radiating from the Nightking, Owen attempted to cool down the situation before any assumptions could fly. "She sent out a distress call that we picked up," He quickly explained, "I just assumed that you knew."

Grawk nodded, "I knew...but I didn't know she identified herself," He answered, "She's paranoid about keeping mention of her name off of anything except a private conversation." He craned his head, gesturing back the way that Owen and Sutton had come from. "She's still in the bunker."

"What? We didn't see her on our way out." Owen cursed his own foolishness.

"Probably because she's busy," Grawk shrugged, "She sent me and Santos ahead to try and scope out Manifest's camp in this valley after we got free. She stayed behind to stop one of their operatives from planting demolition charges throughout the lower levels. Set something strong enough off near the reactors and you can turn the whole place into a fire pit all the way up to the surface, and she wouldn't hear of that happening."

That meant that the rest of his team was stuck in a bunker that was at risk of going sky high! But also...

"Manifest won't set off those charges," Owen said, shaking his head, "Because we have their commanding officer held hostage and under guard in the command center."

"Wait, for real?" Santos asked, glancing up from where he was working on Scott's wounds. "You have Mycroft?"

Sutton nodded, "Dead to rights, and disarmed." She said, "As soon as we mop up these pigs and find a way to get him off world we can have him in Alliance hands by the end of the week."

Santos chuckled. "Oh man, there really is a karma god!"

"Focus," Scott said through clenched teeth. " _Please._ "

"Yeah, yeah, want me to change your diaper while I'm at it?" Santos grumbled as he resumed treating the marine.

Grawk flashed a toothy smirk, "If you have Mycroft and the bunker is secure, then we can focus on Manifest's landing zone." He pointed off to the side. "We located it about two kliks that way. They have a frigate sized ship and about thirty troops in total...minus these chumps and not including the ones in the base." He lightly kicked one of the corpses. "We were just holding back to wait for word from Grey before we did anything. With Mycroft in custody that ship won't be taking off anytime soon, so now's as good a time as any to sieze it and keep them from making off with that fancy modern art piece they stole."

Owen had tempted fate many times today by leading a mix & matched team against fully armoured troopers, and then by coming out here with just a marine and a pilot as backup. But going up against an entire frigate's compliment with two paladins while one of his men was wounded?

...

Sometimes Owen couldn't help but feel that his father really had rubbed off on him too much.

Xxx

 **Bunker Vault 9**

 **Emergency Exit Tunnel**

In the half second that the rifle took to charge Campbell managed to force himself to move. He ducked down while batting the weapon off to the side, causing a blue energy beam to carve deep into the wall of the room and leaving a line of molten material in its wake. The android struck him with the back of its hand hard enough to knock him off balance, but Campbell moved with the blow while dropping a plasma grenade from his belt and turned his tumble into a dive just as the device went off.

When Campbell got back on his feet and looked back to see the effect of his tactic he saw the android step out of the fading cloud of plasma, which was parting for some kind of invisible bubble which most certainly was not any personal kinetic barrier he'd ever seen. Before he had time to even curse the android fired off another shot which scorched his side as he threw himself aside, easily burning through his barriers and heating up his armour to the point where he could feel the searing heat and had to trigger the manual release for the pieces that were now glowing bright red.

The android's rifle began to vent heat out the sides, causing its owner to glance down at it in annoyance before flipping the weapon around in her grip and swinging it around at Campbell's head. He ducked under the first strike, which was so fast that he had no doubt it could have easily killed him if he'd been a moment slower. When the second hit came around he brought both of his arms up and allowed his gauntlets to absorb the impact. The plating and the shock absorbant safeties kept his arms intact, but the force of the blow still knocked him off his feet.

At that moment the rifle finished venting heat and a green light on the side lit up to indicate that it could function again.

"Sorry kiddo," The android flipped the rifle around and aimed it down at Campbell as he whipped out his laser pistol and aimed at her. He tried to pull the trigger first only for the weapon to give the same answer as his rifle: overheated.

The android smiled coldly and began to charge her rifle for another shot while adding, "It just isn't your day."

But just as the rifle was about to unleash another beam the android was struck by something which bounced off of its shield, which flared bright blue as a live grenade clattered to the floor nearby and expelled a large cloud of smoke. While the grenade did not even hit the android it still distracted her and caused her to unintentionally alter her aim ever so slightly. This cause the area right next to Campbell to be reduced to a trail of melted concrete, and the marine had quickly rolled away from it as his saviour charged through the smoke.

Whatever the android's shield was, it didn't catch the fist which struck it in the jaw and actually succeeded in knocking it back. Its rifle clattered to the floor close by as it looked up at its attacker and saw a Ghoul dressed in the attire of a Brotherhood Inquisitor.

Parker flexed her prosthetic hand and looked at Campbell. "You smoothskins always did need someone to save the day." She cracked while Rice rushed into the room behind her, cradling his plasma repeater.

"Damn good timing," Campbell sighed and stood up. "But you couldn't have cut it any-" He saw the android flip back onto her feet. "Look out!"

Parker had kept the android in the corner of her vision even as she addressed the marine, and had already reacted even as he shouted. The android charged forward and leaned out of the way of Parker's next punch, grabbing the Ghoul's arm by the wrist and bicep. Parker was pulled off her feet as the android expertly threw the Ghoul over her shoulder and swung her down head first onto the floor. Rice immediately turned his repeater on the android's exposed back only to receive the same response that Campbell had gotten from both of his weapons.

"What?" Rice glanced at his weapon and tried to fire once more before letting it hang from its sling and rushing forward to help Parker as she tried to twist out of the android's grip.

"Wait!" Campbell tried to call out a warning only for Rice to be kicked in the stomach.

The inside of the Knight's visor was splattered by a half digested nutrition bar which he had consumed during the walk to the bunker, and he went down in an instant. Parker managed to turn over and grab the android by the throat, partially thanks to Rice's unintentional distraction and slammed the synthetic's head down into the floor hard enough to cause cracks to spread outwards from the point of impact. Such a blow would have possibly dazed or even killed a Super Mutant or a Death Claw, but the android contorted her body and rammed the heel of her boot into Parker's head before rolling back into a standing position without pause, a cocky smirk on her stolen face.

Campbell moved for the android's rifle as an irate Parker climbed back to her feet to confront the synthetic. He examined the weapon quickly before a side screen flashed red; he recognized it as a new but ridiculously expensive biometrics system that private security forces and Theta Energy weapons were given (given their limited numbers it made sense that they would put such a security measure to use). With shooting the android in the back no longer an option, he decided to improvise.

While the android was stepping out of reach of Parker's next attempt at knocking her head off Campbell flipped the rifle around so that he was holding it by the front and swung it like a baseball bat – God knows he had the muscle memory built up from way too many years of playing the actual sport. The blow landed and staggered the android a bit, and even as she turned and struck him with a back fisted hit across the face Parker took advantage of the distraction to strike the android in the right knee.

For any human it would have dislocated the joint, shattered bones, torn muscles and maybe even severed it from how much force had been behind the punch. For the android all it did was dislocate the joint and cause it to collapse forwards, but even as it planted both hands and caught itself Parker saw its lower leg right itself and then was swept off her feet before she could back out of reach.

With a growl the Inquisitor slammed her fist into the floor and glared at her opponent. "Oh come on!" She snapped, "Seriously?!"

Campbell, who was now nursing a swollen left cheek, saw that the rifle he had used as a club was slightly dented where it had struck the android. He looked it over before letting it drop to the ground.

The fight wasn't looking favourable now, and it was plain to see that the fist fight was becoming more one sided by the minute; the android delivered a powerful kick to Parker's midsection and easily leaned out of the way of several retaliatory strikes of the increasingly annoyed Inquisitor.

"Come on, is that all?" The android taunted while casually tilting her head enough to duck under a wild haymaker. She jabbed Parker in the ribs twice before the Ghoul was able to turn to confront her again, and each blow had enough strength behind them to break bones and would only be partially softened by the minimal protection that Parker's armour provided. "Seriously, I know greenhorns who have more coordination than-"

She was cut off by Parker suddenly swinging her leg up and delivering a roundhouse kick to the android's jaw. The blow had enough force behind it to stagger the synthetic, who looked surprised until she took a full scan of Parker and found that all of her limbs, save for one arm was prosthetic. The Ghoul had cybernetic implants running through most of her body and, with her torso being the only place that looked remotely normal.

"Bitch, you talk way too much." Parker growled before launching herself forward, the servos in her legs generating a whine as they propelled her with the force that one would usually get from a suit of power armour. She slammed right into the android, tackling the Shepard lookalike around the waist and rolling with her, and then as the android began to climb back to her feet Parker moved around behind her. The Inquisitor trapped her in a bear hug around the waist and then threw herself backwards, swinging her whole body off of the ground and bringing the android crashing down head first into the floor.

As this went on Campbell and Rice (who had removed his helmet) could only gape as they watched the old Ghoul go toe to toe with the android. They were snapped out of it after Parker looked over and shouted at them, "HEY! A little help here?! NOW!"

The two men quickly reacted and moved in to assist. They pinned one of the android's legs each as she struggled to rise back up to her feet. While she was stronger than both of them individually she wouldn't be able to wrestle out of their grip so easily without the proper leverage. Meanwhile Parker mounted the android's torso while pinning her arms with her own knees.

With the android successfully pinned down Parker cracked a grin which showed just how many teeth she was missing. "Oh this is going to be satisfying." The inquisitor said aloud before proceeding to rain down blow after blow against the android, the first managing to alter the shape of her skull before it bent itself back into shape just in time for the second blow to land and tear her jaw half off. Parker gripped the false Shepard's hair with her real hand while raining down punch after punch.

"Could you – could you hurry it up?!" Campbell grunted, trying to keep the android's left leg pinned as she kicked out and tried to buck any of the three off.

"Coming right up," Parker chuckled before positioning her prosthetic fist a foot from the android's face.

Mechanisms within the limb began to shift, and after a moment the fist itself extended outwards and buried itself into its target, crushing a fake nose and then repeating the procedure before it even finished reforming. Parker kept her arm perfectly still while her fist continued to shoot forward and retract, averaging one hit per second.

"C'mon, c'mon, show me that control unit." Parker whispered, "Gotta be in there somewhere!"

She was seeking the device which made up the heart and soul of every android, both modern and ancient. With the developments in computer technology derived from the Prothean ruins on Mars it became a simple matter of equipping androids with a chip the size of a finger tip and surrounding it in layers of protection instead of a full sized artificial brain. This allowed for the chip to be contained behind a reinforced skull, layers of kinetic absorbent gel and other protective measures. But given the proper amount of force and dedication, as Parker was displaying right now, it was very much possible to reach and destroy it.

After the seventh time the android's skull was further bent out of shape she managed to tear one of her legs free from Rice and swung it up, locking its lower leg around Parker's throat and forcing the Ghoul down onto her back. This allowed the android to free her arms and sit up. She released Parker only to kick Rice, causing blood to spurt from his nose as he was knocked away. A second kick followed and Campbell was knocked out cold.

As Parker tried to push herself up her prosthetic arm was caught in a steel grip as the android tackled her, rolling across the floor until they ended with Parker on her back and her metal arm stretched out straight to her side in a straight arm bar.

"Okay, the arm is cool," The android said while her skull expanded back into its original shape. "But it's seriously getting annoying!"

Gripping Parker's arm tightly, the android put more pressure on the elbow joint and bent it beyond what would be normal limits for a regular limb. Parker gave a groan of pain as she tried to roll her body toward the android, but was kept pinned on her back as her prosthetic arm was completely torn away at the elbow, leaving a mess of wiring.

The android released Parker and examined the severed limb in its hand before tossing it away and proclaiming, "Much better!" She looked between the three defeated soldiers and let out a breath. "Well, I'll give you all credit: you tried, but I think your Alliance's standards have really gone-"

She was interrupted by a blade sprouting from her chest. For a moment the android stared at it, more shocked than in pain before an electric current ran through the metal impaling her, causing her to howl while losing control of her limbs. The android collapsed to the floor in a mess, the sword remaining in its chest cavity while the owner stood over the fallen synthetic.

" _You talk too much,_ " The newcomer whispered, their face hidden by a helmet but their voice was obviously that of a woman.

She wore the combat armour of an Inquisitor, but several additional decorations indicated her to be of a higher rank than Parker. It was shaped differently in some areas and had several pieces that Parker was not familiar with such as a larger component on the upper back, and it lacked the red cloth which most Inquisitors favoured wearing with their armour. If the voice had not been enough proof of the warrior's gender then the shape of their body beneath the armour was more than enough.

Parker, who had managed to get up on her knees and was trying to ignore the pulsing pain coming from her arm's connection port looked up at the Inquisitor. "I'd say 'thanks and I totally agree'," The ghoul growled, pointing at the stump of her prosthetic arm. "But why the hell couldn't you have done that ten seconds earlier?!"

The Inquisitor turned her head and examined the trio. Rice was sitting up with one hand covering his broken nose while Campbell was slowly coming around, one hand on his head. It was not perhaps the most dignified sight, but if anybody had seen the fight they had just come out of they might understand...or be told a rather vulgar command involving an area where the sun does not shine.

" _Couldn't while she was too close to you,_ " The Inquisitor shook her head, " _I had to wait until I had a clear shot, the shock that my blade just generated is enough to kill most people._ "

Whether Parker accepted this or not was hard to tell, as the Ghoul turned away and stormed over to where Rice was. "On your feet, you're not dying." She growled, using her one hand to help the Knight up. "Campbell! You holding up alright?"

"Ugh...feeling like I just tried to head butt a Death Claw, but otherwise..." Campbell trailed off in the middle of his sentence as he looked up and saw the Inquisitor standing over the now inactive android. The marine blinked once to make sure he wasn't seeing things before asking, "Okay, how long was I out?"

The Inquisitor stepped over the android's body and held down one hand, which Campbell accepted as she replied, " _Barely one minute._ " She pulled him onto his feet. " _Sorry that I took so long, I had to make sure that I'd disabled all of the charges that bitch placed around the base. Even one could have brought down a whole section across several floors._ "

"Don't worry about it. My CO would tell you that I am a huge proponent of the phrase 'better late than never'." Campbell replied, steadying himself. "And correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as we know there's only one Inquisitor who survived the attack here. Would you happen to be her?"

" _I would._ " The Inquisitor nodded, " _Would you happen to be part of the reinforcements I asked for?_ "

"We would," Campbell said before adding, "Unless six or seven disgruntled people with guns weren't what you were asking for."

The armoured woman shrugged, " _I'm surprised that anybody answered at all, to be frank. I won't look a gift horse in the mouth, considering the fact that you apparently took out all of the Manifest opposition in the base. This glorified trash can was the last of them._ "

Campbell looked at the exit tunnel, "Yeah, but we let the big prize get away," He sighed, "A bunch of minnows are nothing; we had General fucking Mycroft and I let him give me the slip!"

" _You had him?_ " The Inquisitor asked, surprised, " _Damn...but you can't blame yourself. You likely only captured him at all because he wanted your attention, and I bet he only stayed your captive for as long as it took his men to relocate the real prize. If anything you're lucky to have survived at all, the guy was supposed to have some pretty advanced toys hidden on him, stuff even the Brotherhood would drool over._ "

"What did they take anyways?" Parker asked while injecting Stim-Gel into Rice's neck. "They didn't raid the whole base for some paper weight, and if it was big enough to go down this tunnel I'm betting it packed some fire power too."

" _Maybe, but I don't know what to tell you about it. I was transferred here to just analyze it and see if it was safe to transport to Terra Nova._ " The Inquisitor answered, turning towards the Ghoul. " _By the time I reached the system word of the Tartarus Skirmish had reached the planet. By the time I reached the base the invasion had started, and before I could even finish unpacking Manifest came and raided the base. They were in disguise as a security compliment deployed from New Taiyuan that we were supposed to receive in the event of this happening._ "

"So you're the one from Terra Nova who Mason was so focused on finding?" Parker asked, leaving Rice to keep pressure on his nose. "Grey, was it?"

" _Yeah...but did you just say Mason? As in Captain Mason? What the hell would he be doing down here? Isn't he navy?_ " Grey asked.

"His ship was part of the skirmish," Rice explained, "And-and it was pretty much toast by the time he got it back here. Elder Thompson had him on the _Chairman_ to oversee the battle," He paused, wincing in pain as he tried to keep more blood from flowing from his nose, but continued talking despite how most would have wanted to keep silent both from the pain and how his voice sounded with his nose plugged. "But he ordered him and us off the station when the fleet got wiped out."

"Our pod went down, we received your call, and we ran into pretty boy there on the river bank." Thompson pointed a thumb at Campbell. "He came down in another pod and beat us to you in time to keep a Manifest rear guard from ambushing us. After that we all came down into the base and managed to save one of your Knights from being executed upstairs."

" _So they did leave some alive,_ " Grey looked down, the speakers on her helmet unable to mask how saddened she was by this and what it implied, " _Shit, we only made a break for it because we thought they'd already killed everyone else. If I knew..._ "

"You had every reason to think that," Campbell tried to comfort her, "They probably would've killed them even if you did everything they wanted. Heck, one of those guys upstairs had a murder-boner for you, kept talking about you like you'd pissed in his mom's ashes or something."

" _Yeah...not a big surprise,_ " Grey paused to reach up and hit the release for her helmet, which she pulled away and held under her helmet while the trio stared in absolute shock. "Considering that Manifest knows who I am." She added, her voice no longer obscured by her helmet speakers.

Rice dropped his hand away from his nose and whispered. "Holy...shit."

It might have been harder to realize this if they hadn't just finished being humiliated in combat by a similar face, but Inquisitor Grey looked like a younger version of the woman who the android had been mimicking. There were subtle differences such as her hair being darker, but the similarities stuck out all too clearly; they were looking at another lookalike of Alice Shepard herself.

"Yeah," Grey said while brushing some hair back from her face with one hand, "I get that a lot."

A moment of awkward silence passed between the quartet before Campbell broke it.

"Well," He cleared his throat, "In hindsight I suppose that all of that brewing hostility suddenly makes sense."

Xxx

 **Shangri-La Valley**

 **Four hours after Turian landing**

"Alright, one last comm. check. Is everybody ready?"

" _Affirmative._ "

" _In position._ "

" _Ready._ "

" _Feeling like shit, but ready._ "

"From this point on we go silent until things get loud." Owen whispered into his radio, pressed down flat into the earth with his rifle next to him. "Scott, are you sure you can handle that gun with how your shoulder is?"

" _Don't worry, my armour will still take most of the kick, and Sutton has patched me up nice and good._ "

" _Oh so it's crappy when I'm treating it,_ " Santos chuckled softly, " _Asshole._ "

Owen let them have their moment to exchange dialogue. It helped to lighten the mood and to slow his racing heartbeat. He relaxed against the cool earth and shut his eyes as he lay amidst a field of tall grass and shrubs, watching the lights coming from the Manifest encampment located across wide pond from his hiding spot.

This was by far the most suicidal thing he had done in the past two days. He had fought an alien fleet in a one sided battle, been on the _Chairman_ when the invasion had come, had stormed a compromised bunker filled with Manifest troopers and was now about to raid a camp with even fewer allies and even more numerous and concentrated enemies. There wouldn't be a quick firefight spanning a few seconds following a sudden ambush; he counted as many as twenty men spread out around the frigate's landing zone with automated drones and sensor relays-which he lay just beyond the range of. This was going to be downright nightmarish to any decent military strategist.

" _I've got eyes on the entry ramp,_ " Grawk announced, keeping his voice as low as he could, " _Two more guards up at the top, and I can see some activity in the cargo bay._ "

"Do you have a directional microphone on you?" Owen asked.

" _Affirmative._ "

"Use it, and tell me everything you hear."

Several moments of silence passed before Grawk spoke again. " _They have the relic aboard._ " He informed Owen, " _They are simply waiting on Mycroft now, and I hear mention of a deadline in seven minutes._ "

Of course they would wait for their leader, but he must have prioritized retrieving this relic over his own life and had given them a set dead line to keep to if he failed to return to the ship or wound up as a casualty.

Owen reached over to his PIP-Boy and set it on a six minute timer. "That means they'll start packing up soon," He whispered and took up his rifle again, "We wait just another minute, see if they'll disassemble the sensors and drones before the deadline."

" _The practical one would tell you that is what you should do if you don't wish to waste resources,_ " Grawk responded, " _The smart one would tell you that is what you should do if you really think you aren't likely to be shot in the back while you're packing up. And Manifest has not survived under the leadership of idiots._ "

" _It's your call, Mason. Do we hit them now, or wait for them to lower their guard?_ " Santos inquired.

Owen weighed the benefits and risks to both paths.

On the one hand they could strike now, risk triggering a sensor early and take on the soldiers while they were still on guard. If they were fast enough they could take down a few of them in the first salvo, keep them disorganized and take down a few more by the time they reacted-but that was all assuming that nobody missed.

On the other hand they could wait. If the Manifest soldiers busied themselves with packing up their supplies then at least some portion of them would be vulnerable. It could mean a few extra hostiles down in the first minute of combat, or it could mean that the soldiers would have more time to get on board the ship and take off.

Mason came to a decision. "We strike now." He decided, "On my mark...mark!"

He got up into a crouched position and took aim with his rifle. A red beam of light lanced through the air and struck one of the sentries in the back. The man spun around, dropping his rifle in the process and giving Mason the chance to place two more successful hits in his torso before the man collapsed to the ground. At the same time He heard the crack of a sniper rifle and saw other flashes of red or green as the rest of his team engaged the enemy.

The Manifest troops were taken completely by surprise. In addition to Mason's first kill Scott managed to blast a hole through the chest plate of another sentry with the use of Santos' borrowed sniper rifle and Santos himself had taken down a third on the opposite end of the camp with two quick and clean shots. Grawk was moving under cover, waiting to get close to the ramp so he could move up and begin securing the interior of the ship while using the chaos from the battle as a distraction.

" _Contact! Contact!_ "

" _Taking fire!_ "

" _Take them out!_ "

The defenders began to take cover, using crates and pre set metal panel covers for protection as they returned fire.

" _Oh lookit that, they got themselves some cover,_ " Santos chuckled, " _Not!_ "

A shape rose up into the air from where Santos was positioned and began to pelt the defenders with laser bolts as it flew over their position. Mason managed to get his eyes on it for a moment and realized that it was a combat drone armed with a pair of lasers on its belly. The device was angular, maneuvering through the use of thrusters that allowed it to quickly change direction or reverse its course to avoid fire. He was curious to know how Santos was able to carry one on his person without it showing, but decided to find out later. The drone was forcing several of the Manifest troops from cover and allowed Scott to pick off another.

The advantage did not remain with Mason's team for long however. The shots from his laser rifle and Santos' plasma rifle were soon traced back to their source and concentrated fire was poured around their positions. Santos' drone helped to keep them distracted, but even its combat AI couldn't dodge enemy fire forever as it weaved around their positions. Scott's support fire helped to keep them pinned, but Santos' sniper rifle had a sluggish firing rate and small ammo capacity, and besides the fact that it had enough kick to shatter bones if not handled properly it was also a bitch for Scott to aim with his injuries and even with Sutton assisting him.

Xxx

Within the first minute seven out of twenty soldiers outside the ship had been picked off including the pair by the base of the ramp. The other pair at the top were savagely cut down by Grawk, who bisected them with one wide sweep of his buster sword and moved on, undetected by the soldiers busy defending the camp perimeter. The Nightkin found the Monolith taken from the bunker secured by an industrial grade grav plate with numerous cables as an additional insurance policy to keep it tethered in place.

Grawk tapped his call button. "This is Grawk, I've located the artifact. No signs of any other crew yet, but I'll sweep the ship just to be sure."

" _We'll keep them occupied out here! Just hurry!_ " Mason responded, raising his voice to be heard over the noise of the battle raging outside.

"Roger, Grawk out." Grawk responded, but before he could make his way towards the front of the cargo hold he spotted some movement off to the side. "Okay, whoever is there, you have one chance to surrender before you end up like your-"

Grawk was cut off by a crate being lobbed at him. He managed to throw himself to the side and saw the culprit...all four of them step into view in bulky armour almost the same size as him with visors emitting an eerie orange glare.

"Uh..." Grawk tapped his radio again as one of the hulking armoured figures began to charge right at him. "Captain? I think we have a problem."

" _What the hell now?!_ "

"They have mech armour." Grawk responded and then grabbed his buster sword in time to clash with the nearest Mech Trooper.

Xxx

"You have got to be shitting me." Owen hissed.

The shrubs surrounding him had been set ablaze by counter fire from the camp, and he was forced to crawl away from the embers to avoid either burning to death or being picked off once his cover was reduced to ash. Santos had fared better, now taking cover behind a supply crate and firing off controlled bursts from his plasma rifle while Scott and Sutton remained out of sight and picked off another soldier.

By now the Manifest troopers had realized that they were dropping like flies, and an NCO issued several hand signals to order the remaining soldiers to withdraw to the ship's ramp. The first man up the ramp spotted a shape hurtling out of the darkness of the cargo bay and called out a warning as he dove aside, pulling another man out of the way and giving the rest ample time to avoid the Mech Trooper that had been roughly tossed out into the open with a large buster sword stuck in the chest plate. Grawk followed after and knocked aside any obstacles while the other Mech Troopers poured out into the open.

"Scott!" Owen bellowed.

" _I see them sir. Stand by_!"

The sniper rifle let out another crack as a projectile slammed into the lead Mech Trooper hard enough to make him stumble a bit, but mostly because it had taken out one of the optical sensors located in the reinforce pad helmet.

" _Shit. Armour's too thick sir!_ "

"Then just keep blinding them!" Owen raised his rifle as he found a new position closer to the camp-which had forced him to wade through the large pond and let loose with several more bursts. "They aren't invincible!"

The regular infantry remained out of the line of fire now, guarding the entrance to the frigate while the three Mech Troopers spread out and let loose with their arm mounted plasma cannons. The fourth got up and tugged on the buster the sword, which unfortunately hadn't gone deep enough to cause any harm to the pilot; with a single tug it tore the weapon out and tossed it away. A second shot from Scott's hidden perch hit the hulking armoured suit in the chest and left a sizeable dent, but by the time a third bullet sliced through the air under the guidance of a more carefully placed shot a shield of blue light expanded from the mech's right arm and sent the projectile rebounding into the trees.

" _Arm mounted-oh that is just bull shit! How many new toys do these guys have?!_ " Scott shouted in frustration.

Suddenly the Mech Trooper's head turned scanning the general direction that Scott had fired from. It knelt down on one knee as its upper back began to open up, revealing a pair of what looked like-

"Rockets!" Owen gasped. "Scott, Sutton, get out of there!"

A pair of rockets exploded out of the Mech Trooper's launchers, leaving a trail of smoke behind them as they arched up into the air and began a sharp dive down to the cliff where the pair had chosen to set up. Less than five seconds after they fired the rockets came down hard and created a pair of explosions which lit up the increasingly dim forest and created a roar that would be heard throughout the entire valley.

"Sergeant, come in! Are you clear?! Scott, answer me!" Owen called out, pressing himself down flat again as plasma fire lanced through the air just a couple feet overhead. "Sutton! Anyone?!"

Instead of either of the two Owen heard Santos' voice. " _No sign of them, Captain!_ " The Paladin was avoiding fire from two of the Mech Trooper's while his drone returned to his position and provided covering fire to distract the pair. " _We don't have anything big enough to take these things on!"_

"You have grenades, don't you?" Owen demanded.

" _Affirmative!_ " Grawk growled as he found shelter behind a large rock.

Owen grabbed one grenade from his belt. "Well then that's the biggest thing we have!" He primed the plasma grenade and then lobbed it as hard as he could, watching it land by the feet of the Mech Trooper who had killed Scott and Sutton moments ago. He saw the glowing golden eyes glance downward before an explosion of green energy erupted right between its feet, sending it stumbling back with sections of armour now glowing bright red.

Seizing this chance, Owen tapped into his V.A.T.S and locked onto the Mech Trooper's right knee joint. He fired off three bursts and watched as more than half of his shots struck home, heating up the mechanisms and melting away the outer armour. Owen palmed another grenade and rushed in close, priming it as he came within several feet of his target. The Mech Trooper glanced back up and tried to clumsily swing one arm up to block him, but Owen slid under it and gave a light underhanded toss to roll the grenade right up to the leg he had targeted before.

This time when the grenade blew it took out something in that limb. The Mech Trooper fell off balance and had to brace both hands to the ground to keep from face planting. The right leg was sparking, and Owen could faintly hear alarms through the suit's speakers-the ones that weren't fried already.

Rising to his feet, Owen brought his rifle around again and fired right into the Mech Trooper's face. The golden eyes fluttered and died after the second shot, and the faceplate lost it is shape after the fourth. Just as the pilot tried to raise one arm in a desperate defence the sixth shot finally got through the thick helmet. The mechanized limb halted in mid air and the entire suit ceased its movements.

"Payback," Owen grunted, and made use of the immobile and deceased Mech Trooper's makeshift coffin as cover while he checked on how Grawk and Santos were doing.

Grawk had already taken down his pursuer and was moving to help Santos with the other two. Both Paladins working together managed to outmaneuver the cumbersome armoured suits and made use of several grenades and well placed plasma rounds. Grawk even managed to snatch up his somewhat dulled and bent buster sword and buried it deep through the chest plate of one Mech Trooper once the unyielding armour had been softened and melted enough. Moments later Santos heaved himself up onto the final Mech Trooper's shoulders and fired his plasma rifle right into the neck area until the pilot within finally took hot plasma right to the spinal cord and his suit toppled over.

Grawk pulled Santos to his feet and smirked. "Big, clumsy and expensive with an American flag plastered on it." The mutant quipped. "These punks really are the Enclave reborn."

"Preaching, mano." Santos nodded, taking notice of Owen on the far side of the camp. "Okay, the whales are down so let's hurry up and get on board before the minnows can-."

A green blast struck the Paladin between the shoulders. His armour protected him and gave Santos time to spin around before two more landed in rapid succession. Before he even hit the ground another struck Grawk in the side of his exposed head, causing the Night Kin to howl and clap both hands to his head as one of his eyes melted in its socket. Santos' drone turned to meet the shooter only to be struck right in the middle, resulting in it exploding like a live grenade.

The culprit darted into view, rushing right for the ramp.

"Mycroft!" Owen shouted upon recognizing the assailant and fired off another shot before being forced into cover by the remaining Manifest Troopers, who had left the safety of the cargo hold in order to see their General safely aboard. Once Mycroft had vanished up the ramp the remaining soldiers began to withdraw in an orderly fashion, always keeping at least three rifles firing short and controlled bursts at Owen's position. He managed to fire back a few times, but the frigate was already slowly rising into the air as the last armoured form climbed aboard.

"No! Shit. Shit. Shit!" Owen futilely fired his rifle at the retreating starship until the energy cell ran dry, and watched as it ascended and gathered speed until it was swallowed by the clouds. "SHIT! MYCROFT!" He shouted after the vessel as the roar of its engines faded away, leaving Owen standing in the middle of numerous dead or dying. "You son of a bitch!" He howled and threw his rifle down.

How had Mycroft gotten out here?! The last time they saw him he'd been cuffed and disarmed! They'd had the top dog in Manifest in their hands and Owen had just watched him gun down two good men and escape right in plain view!

The thought of his allies allowed Owen to tear his gaze away from the sky and turn to the downed Paladins as he rushed to check on them both.

"Santos! Grawk!" He looked over both of them and held up his Pip-Boy, scanning them both for vitals.

Grawk was still alive and hanging by a thread, but his human counterpart…

"Shit…" Owen forced himself to look away from Santos' motionless body and tend to Grawk, who at least stood half a chance of coming out of this alive.

He knelt and reached for one of his Stim-Gel packs as a weak groan escaped from Grawk's partially burnt mouth.

"Hang in there big guy, we'll get you back to the bunker." Owen whispered, not knowing how to keep that promise.

A sudden burst of static on his radio preceded Sutton's strained voice. " _Captain?_ " She coughed a couple times. " _We-we got hit bad…_ "

Just another wounded person in the field that he likely wouldn't be able to save. Owen pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind and tapped his radio. "I hear you Sutton. I'll be right there, I just need to stabilize Grawk and I'll be right over."

" _Captain,_ " Sutton wheezed, " _Scott…he pushed me down the cliff just before they hit…I don't…I don't think he made it sir._ "

It didn't surprise Owen that the Sergeant would do that. He may have only known him for a few short hours but their mission had felt like an eternity for him to learn about the younger man. He seemed the sort to take the hit for somebody else, and he had just paid for that with his life. There was no way that he could have survived if he had been right where the missiles had struck.

Owen finished applying the Stim Gel. "Don't worry about him then," He replied, "Just hang in there until I get to you, alright? I've got plenty of medical supplies now," He glanced at an abandoned manifest crate with a Red Cross emblazoned on the side as he said this.

" _No, not for this…the cliff collapsed sir…I…I'm under a rock._ " Sutton's voice began to crack. " _I can't move…it's on my-my legs._ "

Owen shot to his feet and pounded towards the area beneath the cliff face. "Sutton, I'm coming! He shouted. "Keep talking, I'm almost there!"

" _Can't…I…I just…"_ Sutton choked. " _Wanna go back…back home."_ She gave a shuddering breath as Owen reached a collection of boulders. " _Wake me when I'm home…_ "

Owen found her just a few seconds later, partially crushed under a slab of the cliff that had fallen away. He'd found some evidence of Sergeant Scott's charred remains on the way too.

As he knelt over Sutton's form and looked down into her sightless eyes Owen felt the previous few hours finally catch up to him. All of the adrenaline, the near deaths, the chase, the mission…all over. It was all over and here he was kneeling over the shattered body of a young woman who he'd dragged into this crazy suicide mission with him along with everyone else who he'd fought beside today. It took every bit of willpower not to just collapse right next to Sutton and die right there in the dirt and blood.

" _Captain Mason? Captain Mason, this is Inquisitor Grey._ " A woman's voice spoke through his radio. " _Captain, if you can hear me, I've re-established communications in this sector and a Vertibird is being sent to your general location. Captain, can you hear me?"_

Owen plucked his radio from his ear and shut off his Pip-Boy with a weary sigh. He turned and sat back against the rock that had crushed Sutton, slumping as he closed his eyes. "It's…been a long day," He whispered. "A long day…"

Xxx

 **Manifest Stealth Frigate** _ **Endurance**_

 **On exit vector from Shanxi**

 **CIC**

Ian Mycroft stood before a semi circle of six silhouettes arranged around his chair. His usual smile had an air of malevolence to it, and his posture showed that his recent victory had been pleasing to say the least.

" _General Mycroft,_ " One of the silhouettes representing Manifest's Council addressed him, " _It is good to see you in good health. And we received your message regarding the retrieval of the Ark._ "

A second council member spoke next. " _The Houston facility will be fully ready by the time of your arrival, and all of the necessary resources have been placed at your disposal."_ He said, " _We expect results within the previously established eighty month deadline, of course._ "

"And you'll have it within twenty," Mycroft casually promised, "Mark my words, councilmen-and ladies, Project Nietzsche is the first step to our goal. And all we need are a suitable amount of volunteers to get things off the ground."

" _Availability of volunteers will be of no concern,_ " A third council member, this one a woman, stated. " _The first batch are already at Houston. We will leave you to your work now General, as you've shown to be quite…trustworthy in handling your own affairs. But we will have eyes on your work, and should there be any blowback that could damage our cause we will retain the right to purge Houston and your experiments._ "

The councilwoman was satisfied by the slight twitch to Mycroft's smile, which was the only indication that her words had even annoyed him a bit

"Of course, ma'am." Mycroft responded with a slow nod and a pleasant tone as if they were all seated for a civilized dinner party. "And I shall look forward to your reaction when you see just what my work will have to show in a few short months."

The _Endurance_ moved away from Shanxi, avoiding any of the alien patrols as it made its way to the relay. Without anyone being the wiser the stealth frigate departed the system, the only indicator being the flash generated from the relay which one would have to be staring at directly to notice.

Xxx

AN: Please note that there are instances in this story where I shall have certain events play out based on the flip of a coin. For example, in the particular situation when Santos asks Owen for a decision on when they are to attack the camp Owen may either attack now or wait to see if the defenders will become distracted with preparing to take off. Both outcomes will have carrying consequences, and could result in the death or survival of certain characters. In the case of the aforementioned event...the coin came up as heads for 'attack now' and as a result Scott, Sutton and Santos are dead and Grawk is one eye down.

And on a secondary note, I'm planning to make the Salarian 'speech pattern' shown by Councillor Zenthis in this chapter and by Mordin Solus in the game series a running gag.

And also…I am VERY sorry for the long wait. Between school work and writer's block I just dragged my feet on this so much, and then I just started stuffing so much into these chapters that it felt overblown and rushed. So on that note I am announcing another change: I'm going to try to make the chapters shorter so that I can start producing them more frequently again, maybe with ten pages per chapter at the most if I can help it unless it's something big. This whole arc has been a bit of a mess from my perspective, and this new arc gives me a chance to stop repeating certain mistakes.

And finally….that's the end of the Fall of Shanxi Arc. Next up is the Shanxi Insurgency Arc!

Now for responses to recent reviews!

 **Commissar Critical – I don't recall any canon sources stating China's exact condition. The closest I got was the ambiguous canon status of Fallout Extreme describing that China had crowned a new emperor who was planning to launch an intercontinental missile at the Brotherhood of Steel's Lost Hills bunker, which I used in the timeline for this story.**

 **Mf0012 – Okay if I recall I answered you via private message to explain my stance on it. This is just for the other readers to see my reasoning. Dreadnaughts can fire shots at a fraction of a speed of light, true, but I'm pretty sure cruisers can too, just at a much slower speed that makes them only one half to one third as destructive as a Dreadnaught.**

 **DMD Hanafin – Sorry you feel that way my good chum, but in this timeline Super Mutants and Ghouls are considered parts of the community despite their mutant status, as are Death Claws. This happened over a long period of time and at the urging of individuals like Logan Mason and Alicia Shepard, and their word put together may as well have equated to Moses adding a new commandment stating 'Thou shall treat thine mutated brothers and sisters as equals'.**

 **Tylermech66 – And once again hindsight bites me in the back. Ever since my last chapter post I've looked back on this story and noted a lot of mistakes I could have avoided, things that I felt so confident about when I started out. If I ever rewrite this I might try going back to change that particular name.**

 **Guest – Uh…okay, love the tech talk, but not much in the way of contributing to the story.**

 **Ngrey661 – I feel the best villains are often the ones who have at least a couple redeeming qualities and don't twirl their moustaches. That's what I was aiming for with Desolas and I'm glad you liked it. As for the whole psychic power thing…I really will need to explore that more openly, just one of many things I intend to add in the next arc.**

 **Reality deviant – Wish granted my friend!**


	10. Chapter 9: Shanxi Insurgency

The Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

Welcome to the new Arc of this story: The Shanxi Insurgency!

Xxx

Chapter Nine: The Shanxi Insurgency, Part 1, Patchjob

 **Sol System, Luna, Aldrin Command Bunker**

 **March 14** **th** **, 2353**

"Things are looking grim."

Alliance President Gregory Irons resisted the urge to make some scathing, sarcastic response to the obvious statement.

"The hostile fleet has achieved total orbital domination over Shanxi, and have blockaded the relay." The speaker explained to the gathered delegates of the Alliance Security Council. "They're beginning to dig in and any effort to remove them will incur heavy casualties."

The council was given an overview of the Shanxi system by a projector in the centre of the dimly lit circular chamber, of the swarm of enemy ships surrounding the once proud star fortress _Chairman Benny._ The gravity of the situation was not lost on them. Gregory had already authorized military deployment, but certain figures in his administration had insisted on fortifying their end of the relay rather than move in immediately. But it had been the voice of one particular individual who had managed to persuade Gregory and Inquisitor Maxson to hold back for the moment.

"Captain Shepard is vocal in moving ahead immediately with the ship's we have managed to gather," Admiral Davis informed the council, attending the meeting via real time QEC projection. "As are many others. How long am I supposed to stall?"

" _Rest assured, Admiral, you will not have to hold your forces back for long._ " The response came from an unseen man who sounded well spoken, with an air of intellect. " _I understand and appreciate the need for the situation in Shanxi to be resolved quickly, but the projected losses that would be incurred were we to move now are unacceptable._ "

"What difference will it make if we move now or later?" An older, more grizzled looking man in a naval uniform asked with a frown.

" _The difference, Admiral Grissom, is that in several days your forces shall be supplemented by a task force from the Hyperion ship yards at Titan._ " The disembodied speaker responded. " _I shall personally oversee the operation from the flagship of this task force, however I have no intention of contending for command against battle tested veterans such as yourself and Admiral Davis. I will simply be there to make sure everything is in working order when you launch your counter attack._ "

The two Admirals exchanged wary glances, both despising the idea of waiting while Shanxi was overrun.

" _Gentlemen, I know that your training and instinct as soldiers leave you at odds with this decision. But the fleet that now blockades Shanxi is undoubtedly not the full extent of what these unknown extraterrestrials are capable of mustering._ _In the event of what has occurred in the last forty eight hours we are to act under the assumption that our foe has been a spacefaring society far longer than we have and possess an infinitely superior industrial base, military power and most importantly technological base. If we are to wage war with a superior faction then we must plan for the long term, far beyond this single invasion._ "

The projected image in the heart of the room changed, forming into a three dimensional representation of a structure of some kind.

" _If we are to prevail, we must shock and awe our nemesis and make them believe that we are far greater than we truly are, that we are their equal or at least powerful enough that to bring their arms to bare against us would result in a war of attrition which they are not willing to commit to._ " The speaker continued as the council stared at the image of the starship floating before them. " _That, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason why you must wait until this task force arrives to launch your assault._ "

Xxx

 **Shanxi System, Moons of Macau, Orbit over Macau IV**

 **Paladins Class Cruiser ASV** _ **Sharon of Rose**_

 **March 14** **th** **, 2353**

A flotilla had gathered around the remaining eight vessels of the Shanxi Defence Fleet. Technicians and Tending Vessels dotted the hull of the scarred cruiser, working to replace dented and shattered hell plating and the systems beneath where they could. This job usually required a dry dock, but the nearest was at Terra Nova so the civilian workers of Macau's mining facilities made do with what they had. The rest of the fleet was likewise under similar treatment, attempting to get the, back into fighting condition as quickly as reasonably possible.

The bridge of the cruiser was dark and unoccupied, save by Captain Deathstalker himself and his XO. The Death Claw was declined in his chair and observing a hologram representation of Shanxi and the fleet blockading the planet.

"The Shell is collapsing." Deathstalker rumbled, his clawed hands clamping down on the arm rests. "It hasn't even been three days and Shanxi is being overrun."

His XO glanced at his Pip-Boy, generating a screen displaying status updates from Shanxi which took several minutes to update. "They knocked out one section of the perimeter turrets," He explained, "After that they managed to launch an air assault and begin knocking out emitter arrays before the garrison could respond. Now they've started landing troops in the city itself on the edges where the emitters were knocked out."

Deathstalker stood up and growled. "Crafty Devils!" He smirked, "I'm almost hoping we get into another fight soon." He dismissed the image and directed a demand at the human officer. "Commander Wei, status update on reconnaissance groups."

Wei removed the screen and replaced it with another listing data packages sent by the vessels that had voluntarily gone out to scout the system while the fleet recovered. "Able Group reports that the enemy transport ships have remained in close proximity to the _Chairman._ Bravo has tracked enemy ships landing near outlying settlements and even near several hidden vaults. Charlie has reported no further hostile ships arriving from the relay and Delta has managed to establish contact with the other outposts throughout the system and inform them of our current situation. Total enemy fleet strength rests at approximately one hundred and twenty frigate analogues, thirty cruiser analogues, forty lightly armed transport ships and the single remaining capital ship."

Almost two hundred fully armed warships against his little flotilla. Any effort to fight would bring down the wrath of this alien armada on the people who Deathstalker had the responsibility of protecting.

But inaction was unacceptable.

"Commander Wei," Deathstalker settle back into his chair, "Are you familiar with the term 'death by a thousand cuts'?"

Wei nodded, folding his hands behind him. "Affirmative sir," He answered, "In the days before the Great War it was a form of tedious and overdrawn execution. It is also attributed to the idea of striking the enemy in many places at once, inflicting only the bare minimum of damage while escaping with as few losses of your own as possible. Logan Mason employed it when combatting Manifest forces scattered throughout the arctic regions by personally leading strike teams in hitting convoys and outposts to starve Manifest bases in the more remote regions."

Deathstalker was pleased by this answer. "Based on the placement of enemy forces, do you see any suitable targets for a hit and run attack?"

Wei brought back the image of the system and examined the enemy fleet movements. "The majority of the enemy ships move in large groups." He observed, "Most remain around the _Chairman_ and the transport fleet. Others have spread out in groups of one cruiser and four frigates each, and based on their method of FTL travel they can quickly receive reinforcements. However…"

His hand trailed off to a single patrol group moving just beyond the range of the system's asteroid belt.

"This group." Wei stated, tapping the red arrow representing the patrol. "It's in the perfect position. The majority of the enemy patrols are on the far side of the system, those on the close side are scouting the outer planets and would take time to escape the gravity wells. If we were to hit this patrol quickly with one good barrage we could destroy several of their frigate escorts, maybe damage their cruiser."

"And the time needed for us to execute an escape?"

Wei carefully considered this. "Our FTL drive requires at least two minutes for us to vent heat safely, any sooner and we'd risk overheating the _Sharon's_ hull and frying the crew."

"Two minutes to attack, inflict as much damage as possible and retreat." Deathstalker weighted the risks and benefits of such a plan. "How many of our ships are ready for such an operation?"

"If I may sir, we might only need one ship." Wei brought Deathstalker's attention to the _Shady Sands_. "And she wouldn't even need to be near the fighting."

Xxx

 **Shanxi, New Taiyuan**

 **March 14** **th** **, 2353**

 **Contested Zone, Southern District**

"Enemy air inbound!"

The call brought the exhausted marines to their feet and rushing to their positions along the edges of the half completed building. They gathered in groups of two, one to wield the heavy surface to air rocket launchers and another to spot and help reload. The man who had shouted the warning was a could floors up and pressed flat on his belly with a sniper rifle, using the scope to keep an eye on the pair of alien gunships setting down just a couple streets down from the construction site which their platoon had taken shelter in.

"They're dropping troops off," The sniper whispered, using his radio to keep in contact with the rest of his group. "Eyes on maybe a dozen Raptors."

Raptors, that was the name for these almost avian reptilians ever since the regular forces finally caught their first glimpse of them. Taller than the average man, slender in build yet stronger in overall physical capability and damn good shots. They'd manage to push their way almost a whole mile into New Taiyuan before the garrison could rally and keep them from the next set of emitters. Now holdouts similar to the construction site were set up to monitor and harass the alien forces whenever they tried to make a push.

The sniper watched the Raptors unload something from one of their drop ships. "Wait, they're bringing something off…looks like a whole lot of components for something." They were piling numerous metal pieces up while most of their team set up a perimeter. "Can't tell what it is."

"And let's not wait to find out." One of the rocket jockeys decided. "Lieutenant, permission to open fire?"

The platoon's lieutenant, one Ghalia Nejem was fresh out of officer training, but despite how green she was the young woman had managed to keep her head so far. She was located further towards the middle of the building in the platoon's command post with the radio operator and those not on watch duty where she could keep in contact with command and her men at the same time. At the moment she was leaning on the makeshift table which held a holo-emitter displaying a map of the local area, staring at the red dots representing the Raptor landing party while the radio operator and the other marines stared at her.

After several moments passed one cleared his throat and tried to get her attention. "Lieutenant?"

Ghalia sucked in a breath and pressed one finger to her radio's talk button. "Permission granted. Clip their wings first. Wait for my signal to fire."

The rocket jockeys had their spotters load and check their rocket launchers and then moved into a better position to fire. Six pairs of marines lined up their shots.

"On my mark," Lieutenant Nejem commanded, "…Mark!"

Six rockets exploded from the barrels of the launchers and left behind a trail of smoke as they flew at the Raptor landing zone. Almost immediately the alien soldiers had managed to react, moving for cover without pausing to even look for the rockets as they slammed into their position. The thruster on the left wing of one of the drop ships was hit and exploded into a ball of fire while the ship itself was sent spinning into the ground. The other one managed to lurch up and avoid the strike, accidentally sending a Raptor standing on the entry ramp flailing down a short but painful drop.

"One down!" A Super Mutant marine growled as he switched out his rocket launcher for a large Gatling laser while his partner switched in some fresh rockets.

"Birdy Two is making a break for it!"

"Enemy counter fire incoming!"

Projectiles peppered the floors of the building where the marines were crouched behind half constructed walls and pillars. Several Raptors were firing short, controlled and accurate bursts to try and keep them suppressed while a couple moved out of sight and, unknown to the humans, scaled the nearby buildings for a better perch with grapple lines. For almost a minute the two groups exchanged fire with one of the Raptors and two of the marines getting hit before the two strays reappeared on separate roofs.

"Eyes on those roof tops!" The Gatling Laser toting Super Mutant bellowed as he turned his weapon on one of the buildings, peppering the roof with bolts of red laser fire as the Raptor raced for cover. One or two shots clipped the alien, but he still managed to rolled into cover behind a stairwell entrance while the other was cut down by the sniper posted several floors above.

"Lieutenant, the second enemy air is coming around!"

"Rocket Jockeys focus on the enemy air craft!" Lieutenant Nejem tried to keep control of both the situation and her own rising sense of fear. "Sergeant K'tor, take your fire team to the ground floor and assault the enemy position while we keep them busy. And somebody get another team over to help pour fire on these Raptors!"

The marine in question was one of the rare non-human (and non-Terran at that) in the Alliance military, a Prolat who picked up a shotgun and gestured for his team to follow. All of his subordinates were much larger than him, which made for a rather comical sight at first as they made their way down to the ground floor and took cover by the construction site's gates while the Raptor drop ship flew in and began to fire a chin mounted automatic cannon which tore through one of the rocket jockey teams. A pair of rockets were fired, but the drop ship veered to the side and avoided one while the other struck the main body without doing any significant damage.

"Main body is reinforced, aim for the thrusters!"

The Super Mutant Gunner adjusted his aim and focused on the drop ship as it fired into one of the upper floors, pelting it with a barrage of laser fire. It began to move off when several of the shots came close to striking its thrusters, but just as the Mutant let out a victorious cackle his head exploded. The surviving Raptor Sniper from earlier had used the drop ship as a distraction to pick off three of the marines in quick succession, taking only around two seconds between shots to adjust and let his weapon vent heat.

Sergeant K'tor and his men had managed to cross the street when the Raptor drop ship moved off. They split up into pairs and crept through the alley leading to the enemy LZ. One Raptor was moving between cover and spotted them, but K'tor's point man made short work of him with three quick bursts, allowing the team to set up a foothold at the mouth of the alley. One of the marines received a nod from the Prolat and lobbed a fragmentation grenade at another pair of Raptors while they were preoccupied with firing at the tower.

The explosion sent them both flying in varying states of dismemberment and alerted the remaining alien invaders to the presence of the fireteam. In the following instant K'tor saw the grenadier get gunned down followed by a Ghoul who tried to return fire. K'tor tugged on the arm of his remaining human subordinate and pointed back down the alley with one thumb. "Pull back!"

The private nodded and back peddled, firing his machine gun to give the Raptors second thoughts about pursuing them. But before the pair could make it back to safety one of the Raptors spun out from cover, unfolding a new weapon not similar to their usual assault rifles or sniper rifles. A single object was expelled from the barrel and hit the ground just a few feet ahead of the fleeing marines.

Sergeant K'tor was turned into a bloody mist while the machine gunner was subjected to shrapnel tearing through most of his body. Those who witnessed this were just hopeful that both of them had been killed instantly, unable to feel what no doubt would have been an agonizing and brief aftermath.

"Enemy air is coming back again!"

The Raptor drop ship did return, but this time it was setting down back in the LZ and opening its rear hatch. One of the Raptors waved while calling out something in its native tongue, herding the remaining troops back onto the ship. As they moved they made sure to keep up fire on the tower, which now had significantly less fire coming from it. The drop ship lifted up once they were all aboard and began to fire its chin gun while moving close to where the sniper was hidden, allowing him to climb aboard with help from one of the occupants and enabling the survivors to make a quick extraction as the few surviving marines fired after it.

"They're gone!"

"Someone check on K'tor and his team!"

"No need…they're all dead."

Lieutenant Nejem exhaled and slid down into her seat, removing her helmet. "God help us…" She whispered, her eyes watering as the casualties from this one engagement were listed off. "God help us all."

Xxx

 **Vault Bunker 9, Level 5**

 **March 14** **th** **, 2353**

As Shanxi fell, more and more scattered units began to trickle in. At first it had been a flood of nearly a hundred mixed naval and infantry, but over time the tide had turned to a trickle of several people every few hours. And even that began to run dry.

As of today there were almost three hundred people inhabiting the bunker. Most had come from escape pods launched from the battle overhead, but others came from outposts that had been given the order to evacuate and regroup. The rest of their garrisons had scattered into the mountains nearby to protect settlements there and watch for alien activity.

Luckily there was no difficulty in housing, feeding or caring for the wayward herd. The bunker had enough to sustain a much larger flock. What did become a problem was having to remind everyone to _not_ touch the shiny experimental weapons in the labs.

"For the last time, we are not arming people with Next Generation Battle Armour." Inquisitor Grey repeated herself as she worked on her own armoured suit, modifying it with some of the equipment from the regular armoury. "This stuff is experimental for a reason and we aren't in nearly enough peril to make me that desperate yet."

Standing behind her was Parker, with her synthetic arm reattached and her usual demeanour enduring. "And I'm telling you that we need them as best prepared as possible for when either those aliens find this place or we need to take the fight to them!"

Grey had suffered this discussion many times, or rather she'd allowed it to happen. Officially she was the highest ranking member of the Brotherhood on sight, and her rank also granted her direct authority over Alliance personnel-save for Captain Mason of course; however Grey couldn't bring herself to simply start handing out disciplinary actions just because a few people were getting itchy trigger fingers down here. Parker was much older and had centuries of experience leading back to the days of the Great War-and the fact that she'd fought off turning feral was both a miracle and another tally in her favour. The Inquisitor was knowledgable but…impatient, and Grey knew why.

"Then arm them from the regular munitions." Grey sighed, turning away from her suit to face the older Inquisitor. "There's energy weapons and high quality projectile weapons in there, Brotherhood armour far superior to any Alliance issue armour; that is all that I will authorize so you'd better take it."

Parker growled, but seemed to accept the compromise. She stormed out, her grumbling fading down the corridor outside before the doors closed. For a moment Grey almost forgot that she was not yet alone.

"And what do you have to say?" Grey asked, addressing Sergeant Campbell in the corner of the lab she had chosen to make into a workshop for armour's.

"Nothing as aggravating, I promise." The Marine answered as he uncrossed his arms and stepped away from the table he'd been leaning on.

Campbell was no longer in his armour. He wore some basic Alliance fatigues which left his tattooed arms exposed. Grey recognized some of the markings and wondered just how a man who had roots in Caesar's Legion had been allowed into the Corps without a massive media spectacle. The markings were passed down between generations, originating from surviving members of the Legion who had reformed into a culture of their own out of the ruins of Arizona. They'd remained off the beaten path for years, forming small villages and camps and beginning to shy away from most of their previous traditions that had earned them so many enemies.

These days Arizona was still considered a wasteland. Most of the American Midwest was officially reclaimed, but so many people were migrating off of Earth that there were ghost towns scattered across thousands of miles, allowing nature (both mutated or otherwise) to reclaim them. The Neo Romans, as they called themselves, were the most active presence between the Mojave and Washington and were tolerated by the Alliance as long as they didn't try returning to any of their more unsavoury practices.

If she had to guess this one was a second or third generation Neo Roman. Most people thought they were violent, blunt and arrogant misogynists…and truth be told so had Grey until she realized this man's origins.

"It's about Mason," Campbell said, "He's been pretty out of it ever since he got back. He's either in his quarters or at the morgue or the infirmary visiting Grawk. We can't stay down here forever, not while New Taiyuan is under siege."

This, she'd been expecting.

Grey carefully considered her next response. "I don't know if I'm the one who can help Mason out of whatever funk he's sunk into." She said, cleaning some oil off of her fingers with a rag. "And truth be told…I don't know if he and I should ever speak."

"Care to speak a little less cryptically or do I need to start nagging?" Campbell asked with an annoyed frown.

"I mean that…I'm not supposed to have contact with him." Grey explained. "I'm in what you'd call Extreme Witness Protection for Brotherhood members. This goes up to some pretty high levels in the Alliance, a lot of people quietly agreed to arrange it…but somehow Manifest seemed to know who I was right from the get go."

"I'm just going to skip another few paragraphs of you dodging around what I'm suspecting this is about." Campbell decided, "…you're a Shepard."

If he thought that would bring a pause for dramatic effect he was dead wrong.

"Oh, yippee for you, you put two and two together." Grey drawled as she glared at him. "That a problem, Legionaire?"

It was Campbell's turn to glare. "Well if we're going to act like petulant children then you're already a temperamental bitch who could do to lose the attitude a bit and talk like a normal, civilized person." He replied. "…and I might be Legion born, but you just lost a lot of high ground with that jab. Now…I don't care if you're a Shepard, you're probably the only one here who can talk to the Captain. He was the one who was insistent on finding you, so you're our best shot."

Grey, or rather _Shepard_ scoffed and turned away. "Forget it. Alien invasion or not, it's better for everyone if he and I never speak-HEY!" She found herself being lifted off the ground in a powerful bear hug around her hips. As she tried to kick or punch Campbell from her new perch the marine carried her out into the corridor, all the way to the nearest elevator and even waited a full minute for the thing to show up so it could take them up a level.

Along the way people stared in confusion at the spectacle. One man stopped to ask what Campbell was doing, to which he replied: "Delivery to the drunk tank, as you can clearly see my friend has had one Mentat too many."

"Wait, mentats don't cause aggression-."

"Oh interesting topic for sure, bye!" Campbell called as the elevator doors shut.

"Campbell you son of a-LET ME DOWN!" Shepard hollered, clawing at his arms now. "I am ordering you to put me the fuck down, marine!"

"Oh believe me ma'am, I'd very much love to." Campbell replied with a smile even as one of her fists bounced off of his head. "But uh…no."

The elevator opened, and a few stray Alliance personnel watched as Campbell almost casually carried Shepard out of the elevator despite her renewed struggles.

"You'll be cleaning latrines for the rest of your life after this!" Shepard threatened.

"Sounds nice."

"You'll be demoted!"

"Meh, being a Sergeant was boring anyways."

"You'll be dishonourably discharged!"

"Well, that'd sure make the folks back home happy." Nathan chuckled as he neared the infirmary. "You know they still send me letters, right? In all Latin, actual quills dipped in ink, the whole hundred yards! And their language, oh lemme tell you my old man must have described millions of ways that he'd skin me alive if I didn't resign and come back to Arizona." He paused to slam one fist against the control panel, and Shepard used that moment to try and break free only for him to redirect her right through the doors and onto the floor of the infirmary where she caught herself.

She stood up and turned, thinking of taking a leaf out of Campbell's father's book before realizing that the one man she had been trying to avoid all day was standing a couple of feet away, his own hand having reached out for the interior door controls to exit the room before her entry.

Owen Mason stared at her with bags under his startled and slightly bloodshot eyes. His facial hair had visibly grown out a bit in the past couple days, and the rest of him was a mess that would have been any flag officer's nightmare at a ceremony.

"Mason, Inquisitor." Campbell said as he tapped the exterior panel again, causing the doors to begin sliding shut. "Inquisitor, Mason. He added before they closedown tiredly.

A moment of awkward silence passed between the two until Mason whispered one word.

" _Jo?_ "

Owen stared at the familiar face of the woman he had known as his sister in law so long ago. He almost wanted to reach out just to make sure that she was real.

Then reality caught up to him and he remembered that Joanna Shepard had died long ago.

"Who are you?" Owen demanded, "And why did my brother send me to find you?"

This caused Shepard to immediately go for the door controls only to receive a warning that they'd been disabled…from outside. She cursed Nathan's mother for bearing such a pest under her breath and turned back towards Mason.

"Why the hell did he tell you about me in the first place?" She countered with her own question. "That idiot…"

Owen scowled. "Well it would seem to me that it's too late to cry over spilt milk, child. Now why don't you stop dodging the question and explain a few things to me, or I'll wait until Campbell let's us out and talk to Alex myself through the QEC."

The Inquisitor's hands had balled into shaking fists as she glared up at him, but relaxed when she exhaled. "Fine," She said. "…my name is Victoria _Mason!"_ She shouted the last word while glaring at the door as if wanting to make sure Nathan heard her…along with anyone else standing close enough, "And your stupid brother is my idiot of a father."

Owen's glare faded as he placed together the last of the puzzle pieces in his head. "And…Joanna!" He said, "You're _their_ daughter?!"

Victoria crossed her arms and leaned back against the sealed door. "Yes," She replied at room level volume, "And my birth was one of the best kept secrets of the Alliance and the Brotherhood. I've had to go my entire life without meeting any of my relatives besides my dad or telling anyone who I really am because Manifest is fanatically obsessed with killing anyone with the surname Mason or Shepard as you've no doubt learned."

Owen thought back to the days leading up to Joanna's death; the ceremony on Mars, the sudden attack by Manifest, the duel between Joanna and Mycroft as they clashed in bulky power armour and wielded proton blades. Then there had been the news about the secret love of the heirs to two of the most famous bloodlines in Post-War History. Victoria couldn't have been older than thirty years at the most, and that was taking into account the fact that men and women in their seventies or eighties these days now looked half their age.

They'd kept the existence of his own niece hidden from him for most of his life. That fact sent a wave of what could only be described as heartbreak through Owen.

Had they not trusted him? Did they keep him out because he was the second, inferior son?

Owen only managed to get out one word. "Why?"

"You remember how many times you barely dodged death in your childhood, right?" Victoria asked, "Think that, only a lot worse. That's how it was for me growing up after Manifest found out I existed, and it only got worse after my mom was murdered by Mycroft." Her eyes narrowed. "Who, if I recall….you had and lost."

"Don't you pull that kind of shit now," Owen growled, "You might be related to me through blood but that doesn't give you special exemption to mouth off at me. And for that matter: how _dare_ you!? Good people died trying to stop Manifest from escaping and one of them was yours! You show them some god damn respect you up jumped brat!"

His words had succeeded in deflating Victoria of her anger, replacing it with shame as they struck home. She looked over to the section of the infirmary which had been cordoned off to serve as a morgue for the men and women who had been murdered in cold blood days ago. Among them was Paladin Santos, Sergeant Scott and Lieutenant Sutton…

But thankfully Paladin Grawk was in the far side of the room from there, sleeping in a specially designed bed that held his weight with bandages wrapped around his cranium. He'd managed to survive his injuries thanks to the Vertibird which had picked him and Mason up and returned them to the bunker in minutes through a hangar entrance.

Victoria knew that the jab about Mycroft had been a low blow. Only a few days ago she'd told Campbell that the General had escaped because he'd possessed the power to do so at any time and had merely allowed himself to be captured as a distraction. At the time she had been under a significantly smaller amount of stress and not confronted with a grim reminder about her less than stellar life. The fact that her mother's murderer had managed to escape had had time to fester for several days now and had resulted in her being….snippy.

"…you're right." She admitted, "I'm sorry Captain…that was way out of bounds."

Owen huffed. "Damn right it was," He muttered, "But I'll leave disciplining you to your old man after I'm done kicking his ass. He has a lot to answer for as far as I care, but I'll never get a chance to call him on this bull shit if these aliens manage to conquer Shanxi."

Suddenly the man seemed to be more awake than when Victoria had been tossed into the room. He looked focused, his eyes betraying the thoughts which were processed at light speed. Owen had probably come to the infirmary to grieve for those lost and to visit the comatose Grawk, but her arrival had managed to spark a bit of that anger…it was almost like being angry gave him something to think about, to distract him from his own depression.

"That's why you're going to get your ass out of this infirmary and call all senior personnel to the command centre for a meeting at 1200 hours sharp," Owen continued, his hands smoothing out his officer's jacket. "That means right fucking now by the way, Campbell!"

The doors slid back open to reveal the marine leaning against the wall next to the exterior control panel, which had been torn out of the wall so that he could access the wiring beneath. He had somehow used this to connect his Pip-Boy to the system, allowing him to hack into the door mechanism and override the interior controls. He gave them a two fingered salute and disconnected his Pip-Boy. "Copy that, skipper."

Owen folded his hands behind his back and exhaled deeply before stepping past the larger, younger man. "And Sergeant, the next time you manhandle a superior for any reason I'll have you cleaning every Vertibird in the hangar with your bare hands." He said, and then rotated his head until he was looking over his shoulder at Victoria. "Inquisitor, I intend to continue this talk in greater detail, but as I said we have infinitely greater issues that have to be dealt with first. When that time comes I expect you to be more forthcoming and respectful in how you answer my questions. Understand?"

"Yes…sir."

"Good." Owen turned to face forward again and walked away. "I'm going to have a look at that android in the meantime. I expect that meeting to be set up by the time I am done."

…

"You know I'm going to kill you," Victoria glared at Nathan, "Right?"

Nathan simply shrugged. "I suspected the desire would exist, yes." He admitted, "But you don't have the time for that, because it'll be 1200 hours in oh say…" He checked his Pip-Boy's clock, "Twenty minutes."

"You think I won't have time to spare?"

"I think you'll spend too much time drawing it out." Nathan replied as he began to saunter away, hands in his pockets. "You might want to get started, it's never smart to leave a Mason waiting!"

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnaught** _ **A'kalez**_

 **Private Conference Room 01**

"They're called Psykers."

Days of continuous work in coercing hundreds of prisoners into eliciting fragments of dialect, hacking captured archives and working his entire team to the point of collapsing dead on the spot had yielded these three words. But they had also revealed so much more behind them, and Captain Kravos Pridius felt satisfied for the first time since he had arrived in this distant sector of space.

"Psykers appear to be similar to Biotics in many aspects," Kravos continued to read off the data to Admiral Trisun and her assembled officers, "The descriptions we have managed to gain indicate that their abilities vary between individuals, but a good deal of what they are capable of bear similarity to Biotics…and most disturbingly to the Asari in particular."

Concerned murmurs spread through the room only to be silenced as Trisun raised one hand. "Elaborate on that last part, Captain." The Admiral said.

"As you are all aware, several days ago one of the prisoners made physical contact with me while I was dealing with General Arterius' thug," Kravos explained, setting his data pad down and sliding it over to Trisun. "When he did I experienced symptoms which many have attributed to a non-mutual meld."

A meld was an experience shared between one Asari and another of any race, linking them through their thoughts and nervous systems. It was used for reproductive purposes, for verifying information and most commonly as a way of cementing a bond of trust between bond mates. A non-mutual meld was when an Asari forced a meld on an unwilling mind, equal in Asari culture as the crime of sexual assault and considered illegal interrogation in other cultures. The victimized mind often fought back against the intrusion, causing pain for both parties unless the aggressor was powerful enough to overcome the defender's will.

Many an ignorant conspiracy theorist had believed that Biotics possessed the ability to influence and read minds. While it was possible for certain exceptional Biotics to temporarily disorient and influence their enemies in the midst of battle or coerce them to speak the truth, it was not the possession of 'psychic' abilities that allowed this but extremely refined use of dark energy to create a specific desired reaction. Asari on the other hand possessed the unique ability to meld with the minds of others, and that had contributed to this persisting paranoia even after thousands of years of study and research into Biotics.

"This ability is called 'touch telepathy' in their tongue, and appears to be analogous to an Asari mind meld." Kravos continued, "Other records and testimony indicate that this is not the extent of what these Psykers are capable of, and that the human who left me in the medical bay was in fact one of their lower tier Psykers who only possessed the one ability."

This would be a cause of concern among the Hierarchy's ranks. The enemy had soldiers capable of assaulting them open a level beyond the physical plain, tearing information away and bypassing the training each Turian soldier received in the art of resisting conventional interrogation and torture. This meant that every captured Turian soldier would be a potential leak by providing even the simplest information that would be considered inconsequential under normal circumstances.

"Observation of the human subject, Psyker Zero-One, has revealed that he now possesses an understanding of _Linga Nobilis_." This revelation was followed up by Kravos activating the conference table's built in emitter, showing footage of the young human male from the incident in question. He was speaking what was barely passable as the primary dialect of the Turian race, all without the use of a built in translator like almost every being in the Galaxy required to facilitate easy and quick communications.

"These humans represent a greater danger than we imagined," One of the officers voiced his opinion, "Perhaps General Arterius was not so unreasonable in his fears as we'd imagined."

Trisun glared at the speaker out of the corner of her eye. "By that logic the Asari are a much greater threat." She said before refocusing on Kravos, "Do we have other samples of these Psykers?"

"Negative Admiral, it would appear that Psykers are not extraordinarily common among human populations." Kravos answered, "And I am unsure if it is only the basic humans who possess these abilities or all three sub species and the Death Claws. It is possible that these Psykers are considered a rare and desired military resource similar to our Cabal units so the likelihood of locating many on the planet may be low, given how this is merely a border colony."

"Well you've told us what you don't know about them," Trisun sighed, "I suppose that will have to do. We will keep this quiet for the time being under the assumption that these Psykers do not have a heavy presence in the human colony, inform only our special forces units and commanding officers, company level and higher. Captain Kravos, has this human assisted in the development of the full translation matrix?"

"Affirmative ma'am, we are now able to hold full conversations with the humans thanks to this Psyker's assistance." Kravos nodded, "That is how we were able to find out so much about these Psykers in the first place."

"Then begin dispensing copies of this matrix to all units and assign an officer to resume development of the program in your place." Trisun ordered, "I need you to take a more active role in this again, and to that end I will need you here in the _A'kalez_ …in the command seat for her entire battle group."

Kravos's mandibles parted, the equivalent of a human jaw dropping from shock. "W-what?"

"I am heading down to the surface to take over Desolas' frigate support and coordinate with him to secure the human city." Trisun explained as she stood up. "I know this is unorthodox, but I am a firm believer in leading my ships at the front. Now that the front has reached the surface that is where I am most needed, and I require a trustworthy and competent officer to take my place up here in the meantime."

Kravos could not process what he'd just been told. He had just gone from being in charge of a small patrol fleet to…command of his own Dreadnaught?! That would as good as make him the acting commanding officer of the whole fleet in her absence!

"Y-yes ma'am." He managed to reply, "I won't let you down."

"I'd hope not." Trisun said, patting his shoulder as she passed him. "Congratulations on your field promotion, Rear Admiral Pridius."

Every other officer present bowed their heads and pressed one fist to their armoured chest. A murmur went around, stating one thing.

" _Hail, Rear Admiral Pridius_."

…Kravos could not help but wonder what he'd gotten himself into now. Most would celebrate being given such a prestigious position from out of the blue, but after all that had happened he could only dread what would come next. He had a fleet of over a hundred warships to care for, thousands of Turians depending on him to lead them in battle…

"Spirits, strike me down." He whispered.

Xxx

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing Files…**

 **File opened: NEO ROMA**

 **In the aftermath of the second battle of Hoover Dam and the subsequent purging of the remnants of Caesar's Legion across the American Mid West, pockets of survivors formed together in a futile effort to continue the plans of their dead Emperor. These small tribes would sometimes absorb one another or wage war with one another in an effort to place their own preferred ruler into power. As the rest of civilization moved forward these tribes would either scatter or go on to establish permanent settlements in the wastelands. Some would be wiped out for harassing Alliance settlements and abducting or killing citizens, others would be permitted to endure in peace. Today the Neo Roman Tribes are the largest organized groups operating in areas that are now heavily depopulated across North America.**

 **Neo Romans, often referred to as Legionaires as a call back to the actions of their parents and grandparents are considered Alliance citizens, but are monitored carefully in the event of a new 'Caesar' uniting the tribes to form a new legion. They have access to basic necessities and have recently been recruited by both mercenary groups and the Alliance military due to their combat prowess.**

 **File closed**

 **Accessing Files…**

 **File opened: Linga Nobilis**

 **Despite the popular belief, few beings in Council Space can actually fluently understand the language of another species. The Asari are the most common exception due to their meld enabling them to acquire information on linguistics, and in the three thousand years since their contact with the Salarians they have used both their natural abilities and scientific ingenuity to design translation software enabling a flawless translation of any dialect into one suitable for the owner. Because of this a Turian can hold a conversation with an Elcor, a Volus, a Batarian, and a human speaking in six languages. At first this software as crude, but millennia of continuous improvements and adjustments have rendered any drawbacks to be nonexistent.**

 **Linga Nobilis is the primary dialect of the Turian Hierarchy, created as an amalgamation of numerous languageswhich are now rare or extinct from separate tribes. It became the official Turian language after the events of the Unification War and has served to make initial communication between the Turians and the Council at the time much less difficult thanks to the presence of only one language instead of several.**

Okay, I tried to make this chapter as short as I could but it ended up being sixteen pages of text plus the usual codex entries that I add in. I've been playing Fallout New Vegas due to excitement aimed at the release of Fallout 4 (which I pre-ordered, curse my weakness). On the bright side (For you) and the down side (for me) my university's teachers have gone on strike and it may go on for a while.

So while I will have plenty of time to type now...there is a chance that my school year is about to become VERY messed up. At the very worst I may not be able to go to the Caribbean on vacation this year and may have to stay an extra month for the next semester (resulting in the loss of a month of work time). However I will roll with the punches and shall continue to work on this whenever my writer's block stops acting up like a bad cold.

I've looked at a variety of mediums including but not limited to Red vs Blue, Metal Gear Solid V, the Mass Effect and Fallout games themselves, etc in an effort to kindle my creativity. I may have succeeded at that, as I have some idea of how to conclude this story in an epic way.

The Shanxi Insurgency Arc will be longer than the Fall of Shanxi by at least a couple chapters, that much I am certain of. It will be followed by the Shanxi Liberation Arc, which will act as a finale to this section of the story. This may add up to around twenty to twenty five chapters.

In short: in the time that it takes for most writers to have humanity steamroll over the Council in every single conceivable way (while possibly annihilating most of the Turian Hierarchy's military without a sweat and scolding an OOC Council that doesn't seem to realize how badly outmatched it is) I will have only written out the duration of the First Contact War.

Also, question to my readers. Should I wrap this story up after the conclusion of the war (with contact between the Council and Alliance and another chapter or two to show the immediate aftermath) and then have the next section (covering the time of Mass Effect 1) come out as a sequel? Or would you prefer that I just squeeze everything into this one story?

Now for responses to reviews

 **reality deviant – As always thank you for the support!**

 **RedRat8 – Truer words were never spoken-er, typed. As for how humanity reacts to the Council after the conclusion of this conflict, I won't spoil anything except this: the Council will NOT expect them to be eager to join, they will NOT expect them to just forgive and forget this, they will NOT make demands of humanity after a whole Turian fleet just had its ass kicked out of the Shanxi system. Basically I'm breaking the mould that a lot of writers defer to.**

 **Mangahero18 – Worry not my friend, I shall compile a list of all the characters relevant to this story, and have even killed several off as you can see from the previous chapter. And in future chapters I'll try to keep things focused on one scenario at a time for as long as I can. For example, in this chapter we only had four different scenarios going on and didn't cut back and forth between them.**

 **Tylermech66 – Actually I believe they come from a chameleon (and thank god they didn't retain the ability to blend in with their surroundings).**

 **OMAC001 – We shall see! The Monolith's part in this tale is not over yet.**

 **5 Coloured Walker – Nobody has been able to state for a matter of fact how fast an object has to be moving to trigger a barrier. Some weapons in the Mass Effect universe shoot projectiles at much slower speeds and yet still trigger them, so I would think that a basic plasma rifle could still trigger them. As for your second point...hm...I may have to do some more research into the theory behind plasma weapons vs Kinetic Barriers.**

 **5 Coloured Walker (AGAIN) – Thank you kindly!**


	11. Chapter 10: Shanxi Insurgency Part 2

The Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

Xxx

Chapter Ten: Shanxi Insurgency, Part 2, Counter Attack

 **Shanxi**

 **Vault Bunker Nine, Command Centre**

 **March 14** **th** **, 2535, 1205 hours**

The twelve highest ranking personnel in the bunker had been gathered around the central platform in the command center. Most of them were NCOs, a rare few were actual marines and only one of them wore Brotherhood armour. They were conversing while waiting for Captain Mason while Victoria, Parker, Rice and Campbell gathered on top of the platform itself.

"What's taking him so long?" Rice asked, glancing between the group and the others waiting below. "He's late."

"We know, Ed." Campbell said in a calm yet firm tone as he eased himself down into the central control chair and crossed his arms behind his head in a relaxed pose, "Just be patient. He said he was going to look at that android body in the cell blocks."

Parker grumbled, "Still wish he just let me melt the stupid thing down, or shove it into one of the fabricator units." She still held a grudge against the android even after witnessing its programming being erased following its defeat.

"Melt down or disassemble a super advanced synthetic life form that wields on board energy weaponry, enhanced physical prowess and personal shielding more powerful than even the stuff the Brotherhood fields?" Campbell spun the chair around and propped one leg up on the other while lacing his fingers over his lap. "I'm loving your long term foresight, Janie."

"Don't call me that, Legionaire." Parker growled.

"Now where does that sort of language become necessary?"

"Captain on the deck!"

Every person in the room snapped to attention as Owen stepped into view.

"At ease." He said without meeting anyone's gaze and stepped up onto the command platform, "Campbell, away from the seat."

Owen sat down after Nathan had moved aside and faced the assembled soldiers and officers.

"Alright, first a brief recap: Shanxi is screwed." He began bluntly, "The aliens have orbital superiority with a fleet twenty percent the size of the total Alliance and Brotherhood navies put together. They have almost forty thousand soldiers groundside by our last estimate and have already pushed several miles into New Taiyuan. They now possess air superiority and a foothold allowing them to land troops in the city at will while moving along the walls to neutralize other perimeter defences so they can widen their available entry points along the wall. The city is mainly defended by any marines who weren't in orbit, a few hundred Brotherhood soldiers and a lot of militiamen who have never seen, much less used a laser rifle in their lives. We have maybe a hundred combat effective personnel and twice as many wounded or support personnel here, leaving our ability to intervene severely limited."

Owen looked over each individual before him, observing their reactions to the increasingly depressing news. Some had grim expressions that masked their fear, others were shifting uneasily and one had even sat down and set his head in his hands by the time Owen had finished.

"...but we do have one advantage." Owen added, and saw a renewed surge of hope among the group, "Manifest's intel on the aliens. They were operating on Shanxi prior to the invasion, likely planning their raid on this very base; and all of their intel was accessed by our newest asset." He pointed to the open doors, "Come in."

When all eyes turned towards the door Parker reached for her side arm only for Victoria to grip her wrist. Rice took a step back while Campbell and the rest of those gathered stared in shocked silence.

Standing in the doorway, now clad in the fatigues of an Alliance marine, was the very same android who bore the appearance of Alice Shepard. Her face was set in a neutral expression, staring ahead as she walked past the assembled men and women to stop at the base of the platform where she saluted Owen.

"Combat Model Manifest-Zero reporting for duty Captain," She said in a monotone.

"At ease," Owen nodded and stood up. "With some help from several of the Brotherhood Scribes who have joined us, I have managed to both salvage this android's memory core and reactivate her while removing all memory and personality files. She is now as she was on the first day of her birth: a blank slate waiting to fill itself in."

"Why the hell would you want that thing active, much less helping us?" Parker demanded. "If you forget it almost killed us!"

"I am aware that I did engage you in combat previously, Inquisitor Parker." The android admitted, "However, I had at the time developed a personality matrix heavily influenced by Manifest throughout the duration of my existence. That personality matrix has been erased, I no longer hold any loyalty towards them."

"She wasn't just some android they dressed up to look like Shepard; she was built from the ground up and raised by Manifest to use that appearance to her advantage." Owen explained, "In essence, she was a product of her environment as much as any other person, human or otherwise. And now she will be assisting us for what I have in mind." He saw the suspicious stares and wariness radiating from the group. "...of course I have taken certain measures in the event of Manifest hiding any surprises in her that might present a danger to us."

"That is an understandable precaution, Captain." The android agreed. "And I do admit that it may have influenced my first decision being to cooperate."

Campbell shrugged and slid his hands into his pockets. "Hell, long as you're sure you have a kill switch ready to fry this thing if it gives us any trouble then I'm satisfied." He looked back at Parker, "And so are you, Janie."

"The hell I am!"

"You _are._ " Campbell insisted a little more firmly than before, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth and don't shoot the super useful android right when we need something like that."

Rice looked uncertain, but nodded. "Agreed...we need everything we can get to fight back this invasion."

"If we're all done here," Owen sat back down and tapped a command into the central console to bring up three dimensional imagery of New Taiyuan. "This was collected by our remaining stealth satellites in orbit. The enemy is concentrated in the southern outskirts of the city, and are slowly pushing in every hour or being pushed back in different sectors while several of the Shell's emitters have been destroyed in the process, constricting the shield's reach across that area of the city. They're air lifting troops in on armed air craft which at first came from their main camp, but recently they've set up an air field much closer to the city but still out of range of the defences."

The image moved to show the air field almost ten miles from the city walls. Alien air craft were parked there, ranging from the larger drop ships to smaller fighter craft.

"That air field is our target for two important reasons." Owen explained. "Firstly and most obviously, because it is likely supplying fuel and maintenance to the enemy air craft while acting as a deployment point for their troops. Its loss won't cripple them, but it will slow down their ability to deploy and evacuate their troops at will. The second reason was found in the android's memory files."

The image zoomed in on a frigate sized vessel nestled among the air field.

"Manifest managed to hack into the enemy's tactical network and found their plans for the siege of New Taiyuan. This ship is meant to act as a mobile command center to direct the invasion and coordinate with their fleet in orbit...and it also has been receiving data bursts from the enemy flagship. Luckily we received a tip from someone on the _Chairman_ station that's told us what the enemy has been transmitting down to this ship: a translation matrix by interrogating prisoners who survived the battle in orbit. This means that in addition to at least a rudimentary understanding of regular English the aliens have had three days to acquire information on the Alliance and the Brotherhood."

Owen dismissed the image and stood back up. "And I don't need to tell you that in war, information is more powerful than any warship or bomb. That's why we will be boarding that frigate and plugging our new android friend into its computers so that we can gain access to enemy intelligence."

Now instead of despair and fear the assembled officers looked more...considerate of the idea. Some still appeared uncertain, but now that Owen had explained his plan.

"Sir, if I might ask," Rice spoke up, "Who is our source on the _Chairman?_ "

Owen cracked a smile. "Glad you asked," He opened his Pip-Boy, "Say hello to Grump, everyone."

The blue tinted image of a Ghoul clad in the uniform of an old United States Air Force pilot appeared, standing at almost a foot in height on top of the command console.

" _About damn time you let me out._ " The AI growled, " _I was stuck in that ship for three fucking days!_ "

"Grump here remained hidden on my ship, the _Fawkes_ , in the _Chairman's_ repair bays. He managed to transmit data to New Taiyuan and recently managed to transfer himself down to this facility." Owen informed the group. "He's the one who found out about all the new intel these aliens have on us along with a few things about them, and he managed to figure out that this frigate is being used to dispense information to every last alien soldier on the planet in addition to its other duties. That's why it is imperative that we board it, hack it and then blow it."

"So we take this frigate down after pillaging it for everything of value and that makes their jobs a hell of a lot harder," Campbell summed up, "Sounds good to me!" He looked around at the others, "Everybody else cool with it?"

" _Won't be a cake walk, if that's what you're hoping for._ " Grump crossed his arms. " _These aliens...every last one of them acts like a real professional. They're always watching their corners, and trying to sneak a whole team by them will be next to impossible...without some state of the art stealth gear._ "

Victoria stepped forward, hands on her hips. "I think I can help you out there. Just tell me who you need on this op and I can get them outfitted with some stealth suits."

"You just have those laying around?" Nathan asked.

"No, but the Fabricators have plenty of material to work with." Victoria replied, "All I do is tap in one command and it produces what I ask for."

"...why don't we have that?" Nathan whispered to Owen.

Victoria smirked and stepped down from the platform. "Because the Brotherhood still doesn't trust the Alliance with the more advanced tech."

Owen shook his head and addressed the whole group again. "I'm going to have the infiltration team itself remain small, four or five people at the most, plus the android. The rest of you will have different responsibilities in my absence such as securing this base and arranging for our pick up after we're done-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Victoria spun around. "You're going on this op?"

"I prefer to lead at the front," Owen shrugged and stepped down from the platform, "Rice, Parker and Campbell: you're on this mission with us. Inquisitor Grey, get them outfitted." He nodded to the android. "Zero, I recall from looking at your model that you have a built in Stealth Generator."

"Correct."

"Make sure it's working." Owen continued on to the doors. "Grey, have a suit set aside for me. The rest of you are dismissed. If you have any questions regarding this op I'll be in the armoury."

Xxx

 **New Taiyuan**

 **Brotherhood of Steel Citadel, Command Centre**

 **Approximately 1300 hours**

"Air assets are already down to sixty percent." Sentinel Noland announced as he approached Colonel Williams and the ring of officers surrounding the tactical display. "Artillery has taken light casualties, but they are finding it difficult to affect any significant damage to the enemy without endangering our own platoons. The marine contingents placed at the front lines are beginning to buckle but our militia reserves have moved up to supplement them."

"So we have a few leaks, but a measurable chance of plugging them." Williams said, stepping away from the table. "How are the Ranger and his team doing?"

"They're fully recovered from their last assignment and are ready to be deployed again, given the proper incentive." Noland rolled his eyes, "The man may be an old friend but he is too focused on money sometimes."

Williams wouldn't have minded the Ranger taking the chance to escape from Shanxi, and he wouldn't have shed any tears if the man's ship as swatted from the sky by the Raptor fleet. However if the Ranger could make himself useful here and there then Williams would gladly forgive him for his narrow minded greed. He'd known that mercenaries required payment, and few accepted I. , so this didn't come as a surprise to the Colonel.

"Well then I'll need him and his team to start clearing out some of the southern districts." Williams decided, facing the table again, "If he can disrupt the enemy's advance, maybe shoot down a few of their VTOLs then that would make my day just a little less stressful."

Before Noland could respond one of the Scribes nearby spoke up. "Colonel! Sentinel! I've just received a transmission. It's on a secure channel sir, and he says that he's Captain Owen Mason."

So Mason had survived! Williams counted his blessings and signalled to the Scribe to forward the call to the tactical display, which quickly became replaced by a life sized replica of Mason himself.

"Captain, it's good to hear from you." Williams said.

" _I apologize for not making contact sooner Colonel, I was...not in the best condition and had to arrange for the safety of my new temporary base._ " Owen explained himself. " _I've got a few hundred survivors from the battle in orbit and access to a sizable arsenal, compliments of our friends from the Brotherhood of Steel. I have also managed to find a way to help you kind folk out all the way from out here._ "

Williams removed his cigar from his mouth and nodded. "Fire away then Captain."

" _I intend to launch a covert strike into the enemy air field with two objectives: to neutralize the enemy's ability to quickly deploy and retrieve their air craft from that location, and to board their mobile command base both to further disrupt their siege and to obtain critical information on the enemy._ "

Williams raised one brow and exchanged a look with Noland. "That sounds risky, Captain," He said, "Are you certain that it is a good idea to commit resources to such an endeavour?"

" _I have a reliable source that says it is._ " Mason affirmed, " _My ship's AI, Fawkes, can verify the strategic value of our target._ "

Williams thought over this proposal while setting his cigar back between his teeth. He took several moments before addressing Noland. "Sentinel, your thoughts?"

"The Captain is well within his rights to authorize such a mission, given then he may be one of the highest ranking Alliance officers left besides us." Noland answered, "The risk is his as much as the glory."

" _I'll take survival over glory if you wouldn't mind, Sentinel._ " Owen chuckled. " _My team will be in position soon, in fact the moment this conversation is concluded we may very well be making our move._ "

Williams nodded and removed his cigar again. "Then I suppose that there is no further use in debating this, though I would have preferred to be informed earlier than the last second. Regardless...I wish your men luck, Captain."

" _My thanks, Colonel,_ " Owen nodded, " _I've instructed Grump to keep you updated on our progress, but I have a feeling that all you'll need to measure our success is how loud of an explosion there will be this afternoon. But there is one more thing you need to be made aware of, Colonel Williams; the enemy has acquired enough knowledge on our language to produce a rough translation matrix, which Grump should be forwarding a copy of to you now. Hopefully this mission will be enough to tip the scales back in our favour, but even if we fail you might at least be able to make use of this._ "

"Data package received, Colonel," The Scribe from before confirmed Owen's statement. "AIs are decoding...he's right sir."

"You have our thanks, Mason." Williams said, glad for the unexpected boon, "If I can I'll try to redirect some units to your position, assuming that it can be done without alerting the enemy to your location. It would be preferable if we could get you back into the city to help out."

" _I'm afraid that won't be possible,_ " Owen admitted, " _I intend to take part in this mission, and I have found myself more capable by leading my troops at the front rather than commanding from a distance. I would be more useful out here._ "

"That is most...irregular," Noland stated, "You are supposed to command a ship if I recall...how much experience have you recently gained in ground based combat?"

" _Too much, let's just leave it at that._ " Owen insisted, " _Captain Mason, out._ " His image shattered into countless fragments which dissolved into nothing.

Noland looked to Colonel Williams. "Are we really going to rely on that?" He asked.

"If it comes from a Mason then...historically speaking we have no reason not to." Ashe sighed, removing his cigar again, "But just to be safe I want you to gather a group of your best Paladins and acquire some wings, preferably something with its own stealth drive."

"Perhaps I should see if the Ranger and his team would be willing to act as you response team." Noland proposed.

Ashe groaned. "Oh great, even more money that he can squeeze out of us, that's just what we needed."

Xxx

 **Mk.2 Vertibird (Code named: Owl-1)**

 **On route to hostile air field**

"I don't like having that thing here," Parker repeated, sitting near the back of the troop compartment and looking down at the SMG resting in her hands.

Victoria sighed as she donned her helmet. "Yes Parker, we know." She replied, "But you heard the Captain, if it somehow regains its memories he can-"

"To hell with his precautions!" Jane growled and shot to her feet. "He just walked in there, flipped it back on after putting a bomb in it and expects it to suddenly be our new best friend? That thing is a Synth, a Manifest Synth, and it should have been melted down or scrapped the moment we got everything useful out of it! Mason is gambling with our lives here and for some reason none of you seem at all concerned about it!"

The trip had been blessedly silent before now. While Mason and Zero (the new name for the android) were in the cockpit observing their approach Nathan, Victoria, Jane and Edward had been checking their newly provided silence weapons and Night Hawk stealth armour with minimal dialogue until Jane decided to voice her thoughts on the presence of Zero...again.

Nathan groaned and tilted his head back. "Lord, give me strength not to tape her mouth shut." He whispered before looking at the object of his irritation, "Look Janie, Mason hasn't led us wrong yet. If he says that he's made sure that suped up tin can won't be able to try anything funny then I think we owe him the benefit of the doubt."

"He didn't lead us wrong because the last time he wasn't the one leading us when everything went wrong," Parker countered, "We know what happened to THAT team."

That caused Victoria to rise to her feet and give the Ghoul a smoldering glare. "Say that one more time, Parker... just one more time," She warned the older Inquisitor, "Those are my men you're talking about, and your allies. There are always casualties in war and the fact that your whole team wasn't wiped out is a testament to Mason's ability to lead."

Parker didn't back down, instead rising to meet Victoria's glare with her own. "And there we go again, praising him like he's some kind of messiah." She shook her head in disgust, "He's an arm chair captain! And the stuff he faced couldn't hold a candle to the shit I've seen for the past two centuries. Don't act like he's suddenly a miracle worker."

"You're really losing the high ground here Janie," Nathan cautioned, hands folded over the top of the helmet resting in his lap, "Take my advice and sit back down before this gets any more heated than it already is."

"Don't start with me, _Legionnaire_." Parker hissed, baring her teeth before the door to the cockpit opened.

"We're approaching the drop point," Owen announced, stepping into view in a set of Night Hawk armour of his own and extinguishing the situation with his presence alone.

Nathan and Edward slid their helmets on and rose in unison as the former asked, "How's it looking out there, skipper?"

"So far it seems that we've managed to remain undetected, but I won't risk landing us too close to the enemy camp," Owen responded while picking up a weapon from its rack, a bull-pup style assault rifle with its own silencer attached, "We're setting down in a forested area close by and making our way in on foot."

The Captain glanced between the squad members. "Did I miss something?" He asked, noting their stances and body language which spoke volumes of what he assumed was a...vocal confrontation.

"Negative, sir." Edward replied, shaking his head.

Owen raised one brow and closely examined them each once more before shrugging. He then slid his helmet on and secured it before tapping a button which caused the visor to tint until it fully hid his face, which the rest of the team mimicked a moment later. "Based on what Grump has acquired our Stealth Fields should be able to slip by the enemy, but the information from the initial hostile raid that compromised New Taiyuan's perimeter indicates that they have something similar and just as effective, so I don't want anybody to take their chances out there. They could have some countermeasure for personalized stealth technology."

"Gotcha, keep our distance." Nathan nodded.

"How busy are we expecting the enemy camp to be, sir?" Edward asked next, checking his submachine gun. "And I apologize if this sounds insubordinate but...why can't we bring something more effective than slug throwers?"

"Both valid questions, Rice." Owen hung his rifle on his back where a pair of magnetic strips held it in place and crossed his arms. "We're trying to time this op so that when we make our move the enemy will have launched their next raid into the city. It's a long shot since they seem to know better than to wait a consistent amount of time between raids but the shortest amount of time that they've gone has been thirty minutes without launching another wave...so we might be due for one just as we reach the perimeter. In that sort of confusion it should be a lot easier to slip in and decrease the odds of being spotted by some alien on break."

"As for the other question...I know that as a member of the Brotherhood you're accustomed to using energy technology, but take my word for it when I say it is the absolute worst for a stealth operation." Owen added as he approached the aft hatch controls.

The squad could feel the Vertibird begin its descent at that point.

"Okay here's one last recap: we get to the camp, we set our charges, we get to the enemy command ship, we let Zero get her grimy paws on its computers, we plant more charges, we get out and then blow the whole place." Owen said as Zero stepped out of the cockpit where he saw the pilot give him a thumbs up. "I don't want to see any heroics on this, or detours for that matter. I don't care if you think you've found a new target, you stick to this mission and we can make this quick and clean...if you don't then I will personally break my own foot off in your ass after this."

Zero tilted her head. "That is a most...peculiar deterrent, sir." She commented.

"Whatever works, Zero." Owen said and pulled on a lever which caused the aft hatch to open, revealing the lake country where the alien air field had been set up in close proximity to. "Go! Go! Go!" He waved one arm and watched as Nathan and Edward rushed past him and leapt from the Vertibird, which hovered almost twenty feet off of the ground. Victoria and Jane went next, followed by Zero before Owen followed after them.

For most the distance ran the risk of a broken or sprained ankle unless the landing was executed perfectly. Luckily the Night Hawk armour, which was designed and primarily used by the Brotherhood, was as good at absorbing the impact from a long fall as much as a full sized heavy power armour was. They were essentially slimmed down, comparable in size to the experimental armour that had been found in the Vault Bunker's labs, fully black from head to toe and designed in a way to not reflect light. They could be called mankind's Each member of the team was able to land without losing their balance and move out of the way in time to clear the path for the next pair to jump.

Owen looked back up and held up one hand with a thumb before the Vertibird pulled away, vanishing from plain view as its own stealth systems engaged. The sound of its engines went with it moments later, and soon any aliens who may have hear the approach would have found nothing upon scanning the skies.

"Comm. Check," Owen ordered as his helmet's HUD lit up, highlighting each member of his team.

"Campbell, online."

"Rice, online."

"Zero, online."

"Grey, online."

"The thing works." Parker grumbled and hefted her rifle, "Let's do this already."

They had been set down in a wide clearing close to one of several small lakes-many of which had grown thanks to the recent storm. The area appeared to be deserted for the moment, but they could hear the distant echo of many engines.

"Alright, the moment you even think we've got hostiles close by you hit your stealth field and keep it on as long as you can or until you know it's clear. And keep silent unless you've got something important to say." Owen instructed as he moved forward, "Campbell and Rice, you're on point. Parker on the right, Grey on the left and Zero has our flank."

The squad moved out, finding it much easier to traverse this region than Shangri La Valley. This region was not as densely forested and seemed more like the average countryside often desired by farmers and colonists for when they wanted a nice countryside getaway. The ground was more flat and open, allowing them to see where they were stepping-and what's more it wasn't unsteady mud but firm and solid soil they were treading on. These facts made the trip more bearable even for the eternally irritated Parker.

For a while the six trudged in silence, and then Edward raised one arm with his fist clenched to signal for them to halt. They all knelt down in unison and moved into cover while Campbell moved further ahead and peered between the rows of trees. He spotted some movement, a colour which stood out against the background. He turned and signed one signal to the rest of the team with his hand: Enemy.

Each member of the team activated their armours' built in Stealth Generators and vanished, leaving only a faintly discernible shimmer in the air like that of water in the sunlight. When they remained still or moved as slowly as humanly possible even this vanished entirely, concealing them from view as a group of alien soldiers appeared from the trees.

This was the first up close look that any of them had had with the invaders, and Owen could safely say that he almost wished he'd stayed behind. Each alien was just as tall as or taller than the humans, slender in build yet broad in the shoulders, angular heads covered by rounded helmets and handling weapons which seemed to resemble classic military grade assault rifles. Their armour was painted to resemble the terrain, a mix of greens and browns that would help them to blend in if they laid perfectly still. It had been the orange glow of one of the aliens' holographic gauntlet which had given them away almost thirty yards off from where Campbell had been.

The aliens passed within close proximity, chattering in their language.

" _Lemme see if I can fix that for you...downloading translation matrix now._ " Grump's voiced rumbled in Owen's ear as the AI uploaded the program to his Pip-Boy along with the rest of the team's.

At first all they heard was static and some distorted words before the translation began to come in loud and clear.

"...even seen any of these primitives yet." One of the alien soldiers said, seemingly finishing a complaint.

"I wouldn't be casting these off...mere primitives," The alien next to him replied while gazing off to the side and right through Owen, making eye contact without knowing it. His speech kept cutting out to be replaced by more distorted noise and static for varying spans of time. "You have seen their...have you not?"

"I've seen them... like Vorcha... an Omni-Tool," The first countered, more of his speech cutting out. "And in the end...changed... of...mission."

" _Sorry for the rough translation, these guys put it together ridiculously fast and made it so you at least get the gist of what the other guy is saying but it still has holes in it._ " Grump apologized, which in itself was rare. " _I'll see if I can't work on it myself; maybe this little raid will give me everything I need._ "

Even if it didn't Owen had little doubt that Grump would be able to fully develop a working translation program in a fraction of the time that it would take any alien or human mind. AIs were simply able to work much faster, develop newer technologies at speeds that left scientists envious and had advanced starship designs with each passing month ever since mankind and its associate races had taken to the cosmo.

Once the aliens had moved on Owen sent a signal that appeared on the inside of each squad mate's visor. It told them to continue forward but remain cloaked, a reasonable precaution in the face of more possible patrols close by. The squad now had to be careful not to stumble into one another, relying on their HUDs to keep track of each other while also keeping an eye on the forest floor to avoid tripping. It was surprising how much harder it became to move at a brisk pace when you couldn't see where your own feet were stepping, and it would be a nightmare for crossing a mine field.

Another twenty minutes passed before Grump spoke again. " _Okay I found another stealth satellite passing by and it looks like you're close to the outer perimeter now._ " He said, highlighting the general area with a blue arrow that appeared in their HUDs, " _And even better news: your timing is perfect. The aliens are gearing up for another assault and their air craft are just being filled up now._ "

"Then we hold position until they launch." Owen decided, kneeling down and pressing himself back against a tree. "What's the terrain like and what kind of resistance can we expect?"

" _Well the outer perimeter is just a few prefabricated guard posts that they set up near the edge of the forest, more of an early warning system than an active deterrent. Past that the trees thin out more so you'll need to let your Stealth Generators recharge so you can move in the open. If you can get to the secondary perimeter you just need to tip toe past a few sentries and avoid the sensors they have up._ " Grump answered, " _Your suits should protect you from the more wide spread passive sensors, but the more concentrated ones will likely pick you up at close range. I'll try to mark them as you get close, but I'm really stretching myself thin here._ "

Grump was a ship based tactical AI, so it was no surprise that he was being put through his paces with this. He was meant to operate from a ship, perhaps expanding himself to some peripherals such as drones or shuttle craft when needed. A mission like this would usually require a fully developed Ops Support AI who could juggle a half dozen things as easily as Owen breathed.

Unfortunately for them such AIs were rare, expensive and on flagships or grounded on Earth, deep in bunkers containing vast super computers that could reach out across all of Alliance Space...or at least to the worlds developed enough-and Shanxi didn't fit that criteria.

But so far he had been making a habit out of pulling off the impossible with too few resources, so Owen chose not to complain.

"I've got absolute faith in you Grump," Owen said encouragingly as his team continued on towards the outer perimeter, "I'm willing to bet these so called Raptors have never seen a decent AI before, you've got this in the bag."

" _Save the flattery, meat bag._ " Grump muttered, " _Alright, marking time and synchronizing your clocks-just another thing I'm juggling by the way. You want to keep this op fast and short, so if I manage to find the time I'll shriek at you whenever you take too long._ "

The time flashed in the top right corner of Owen's visor: twenty minutes to two. They'd been trudging through the forest for the better part of an hour already. He'd been hoping to reach the air field faster but caution had slowed their progress, and it was preferable to be behind schedule rather than shot down before you could complete your objective at all.

"Let's try to pick up the pace," Owen waved his team forward, "Nothing too fast or reckless, but let's see if we can't make up for some of that lost time."

Xxx

 **Turian Airbase** _ **Iaecalas,**_ **Frigate** _ **Wraith's Wing**_

 **Approximately 1430 hours**

Saren had kept one eye open for the mysterious group of humans who had escaped him ever since his encounter in the forests surrounding the main camp. He had dispersed information on their appearance, their weapons and their capabilities to the other special forces units attached to his brother's command but had not luck in even finding a glimpse of them as of yet. That left him to assume that they were in the human city, perhaps being held in reserve...

The young Cabal stood in the CIC of the frigate which served as the base's command post, arms crossed and watching through a now exposed view port as the latest wave of airships departed with their fresh troops. He was envious of them for being able to go ahead, but he knew that his place would be behind the enemy lines once they had dug in too tightly for the regular infantry to push further. Already his unit was preparing for deployment within the next day at the furthest, but Saren occupied himself by assisting Colonel Victus and General Oraka in overseeing the siege.

Turning away from the view, Saren returned to where the two officers were overseeing a holographic view of the battle field within the city. Saren watched as units of the Turian Hierarchy's 57th Frontier Legion did battle with the human and Death Claw forces-the latter being much less numerous much to the benefit of the Turians.

"3rd Battalion confirming presence of Death Claws on west flank." An operator called out, "Platoon strength, inflicting heavy casualties and supported by what seems to be more Synthetics!"

The map zoomed in on the area, showing dozens of Turian soldiers falling back in an orderly fashion. Several squadrons provided covering fire for the rest while several armored transports moved into position with their guns. The Turians were being pursued by forms larger than Krogan but faster than even an Asari commando, leaping over debris and shrugging off small arms fire to run down and tear apart Hierarchy soldiers. Behind these Death Claws were ranks of lumbering synthetics firing rapid fire projectile weapons and even further back were several human units covering the rear of the attack force.

"Assume Formation 3, order all units to switch to incendiary ammunition and deploy a squad to lay mines as they retreat towards the armored column." Oraka commanded.

"I have contact with Ptaerias Flight," Colonel Victus announced, his Omni-Tool glowing as he accessed the Turian Battle Net, "They can reroute to assist."

Oraka shook his head, "Negative, tell them to press the attack on the central flank or the humans will overwhelm 5th Battalion's position. We can't lose that foothold or we won't have any safe room for our artillery units." He redirected the map to where a larger fight were occurring throughout several parallel streets between soldiers of the Hierarchy who were repelling another attempt by the humans to dislodge them, but they were taking heavy casualties even as they pushed the humans back.

Saren cleared his throat. "If I may General, you could supplement 5th Battalion with several of the support companies that are arriving in the next wave. That would allow them to hold out while Ptaeris Flight takes the pressure off of 3rd Battalion, who appear to be in greater danger of collapsing." He offered his input.

Oraka frowned, but appeared to consider this advice. "That's risky. If the humans make another push before Ptaerias Flight finishes assisting the left flank we could lose the center entirely."

"You don't need to hold the center flank without those fighters forever, General." Saren insisted, "Just a few minutes so that we don't entirely lose the left one, which is in danger of collapsing. The support companies can be granted heavy weapons from the munitions depots you have set up within the city if you authorize it, and with that they could shore up the center and buy time. "He directed the map to where the humans were regrouping. "Look, they're gathering their armoured vehicles to make their push. A few heavy emplacements could make short work of them and block the streets."

"Fine, fine! You've convinced me, Lieutenant." Oraka grumbled, "Reassign Ptaerias Flight to the 3rd Battalion's position. Support Companies One through Four are to reinforce the center and disperse themselves in squad strength detachments along that line. Heavy weapon deployment authorized for all four companies. They are to dig in and hold that position until Ptaerias can return to assist."

Orders were transferred and received by company commanders. As Turian drop ships offloaded hundreds of fresh soldiers several commanders redirected their troops to the nearest munition depot to receive portable heavy weapons, which were considered as valuable a resource in a ground engagement as a Dreadnaught was in a space engagement. Meanwhile a flight of Turian fighters strafed the Death Claw platoon, bombing the street they were on and leaving them disorganized while 3rd Battalion was given a temporary respite to fortify their position alongside their own armoured support. Several of the fighters were struck by anti air emplacements, but only two were taken down before most of the Death Claws were wiped out, forcing the rest to retreat.

"3rd Battalion is holding! Enemy Death Claw unit in full retreat, Synthetic infantry are digging in."

Oraka looked at Saren. "Not a bad decision, Lieutenant." He admitted, watching as the support companies moved up and helped 5th Battalion to hold the center, firing off rockets that tore into the human vehicles as they tried to push forward. "Reckless, but I won't argue with results."

He then looked to Victus. "Have Ptaerias return to base after they take some of the pressure off of the center, and then redirect our next armoured column to reinforce that position. Keep me updated on the western flank, and have those heavy weapons redistributed as far as you can between units so that nobody is left unprepared in the event of another Death Claw Charge."

That was what the Turians had come to call it whenever the Death Claws appeared. Death on two or four legs depending on how they ran, some of them wielding bulky weapons or just relying on their brute strength and speed. One could usually tear through several squads if it took them by surprise, several dozen would have been able to turn the tide on the western flank and possibly massacre 3rd Battalion to the last man with only moderate to heavy losses if not for the intervention of Ptaerias Flight.

"Lieutenant Arterius, Colonel Victus, walk with me." Oraka said, gesturing with one hand as he stepped away from the table. "Commander Oramius, you have tactical command in my absence. Keep me informed if the enemy is reinforced."

"Yes sir!" The _Wraith's_ regular CO saluted and took his post by the display, easily directing troops as Oraka had done moments ago. Some would find this unorthodox, but in the Hierarchy commanding officers were provided training in coordinating on any field of battle, be they a ship commander like Oramius or a General like Oraka; this way anyone of suitable rank and experience could step in for a fallen CO and maintain organization.

The three Turians stepped out onto the grassy plain where the air field had been set up. The setting was one that would usually be favourable for those seeking a relaxing and wide open area for vacation. Between the clear blue skies overhead and the view of the distant mountains Oraka was certain that if he had not been sent to wage war he would have gladly travelled to those mountains to simply get away from the Galaxy and all of its bothersome politics...hopefully with a certain Asari by his side.

Oraka stopped near the air field, which now lay mostly empty until the drop ships returned. "Just a few more days of this and the city should be ours." He mused, "It's something that I'm not used to...enemies who have the courage and strength to truly fight back. After facing pirates and slavers for so long this is quite the challenge."

He looked at the two behind him. "I'm almost hoping that we don't win." He confessed and fought down an amused grin at the shock prevalent in the two younger officers. "Can you blame me? The Hierarchy is a bit too used to being the big gun in the Galaxy, the self appointed police force of the cosmos...could do us some good to have a little healthy competition."

"I can't say the same for having a war!" Victus blurted out but quickly corrected his behaviour, "Uh, sir."

Oraka nodded. "Yes, true...but if we go on to win at this world and then pacify this race what would come of it?" He looked between them both. "I asked you a question."

Saren chose to answer. "If we were to win, General, we would be safeguarding the way of life across Citadel space and ensuring this new faction obeys Council Law."

"Ah, there we have it!" Oraka chuckled, "Safeguarding, preserving, protecting, maintaining and enforcing..." He shook his head. "Tell me, when have the most significant changes come to galactic civilization? I mean periods where the Council species and their associates have had to adapt and evolve or die."

When neither was able to answer him Oraka continued, "When we found ourselves confronted with something that is not under our explicit control. The Rachnii Wars, the Krogan Rebellions, the Unification War, the Geth Uprising...each had its tragedies and losses but through it all people who once seemed incapable of surviving in hostile and dangerous places rose to the challenge and managed to endure in their own way. When the Rachnii came the Krogan rose in a blaze of glory, when the Krogan turned the Turians rose in their place, when the colonies were in chaos the Hierarchy enforced order and even when the Quarians were driven from their home they found a way to endure where others might have faded away. Conflict, even a bloodless one born of tension can open up new doors within us that we might have never found ourselves."

"Are you trying to say that our defeat here would be a _good_ thing, sir?" Saren demanded.

Oraka shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not. Conflict encourages growth, through it the Council became stronger but during the so called 'peace time' between these conflicts what has come of it? Terminus and Hegemony funded raids hit border worlds, a Council that refuses to acknowledge these as serious threats except when they are forced to confront them and all the while entire species who have been around longer than the Hierarchy continue to remain subordinate."

"But that is because we have proven our worth to the Council!" Saren objected, "Surely you would not wish for the Volus to have a seat, and Spirits forbid the Hanar? They're bankers and priests who have no foresight beyond their own borders and haven't contributed to society as a whole on the scale that the Hierarchy has!"

"Once again a classic and predictable answer...but not wrong, Lieutenant, not wrong at all." The General turned to look at the air field again. "Maybe I'm just having too much time to think on it...maybe I have a bit of a bad influence," Septimus felt one hand travel to the area of his armour covering where an Asari pendant was resting against his chest beneath a layer of armour, "But to be quite frank gentlemen...if it gets the Council to do anything, if it causes any kind of change that might lead to some more forward thinking then by all means I'd say let these humans give them a kick in the ass to get them moving."

And no sooner than he had finished speaking did Septimus hear an explosion coming from the fuel depot near the far side of the air field. Throughout it all Septimus did not appear to react, his head still facing the wide open fields and his hand resting over where the hidden pendant hung while both Saren and Victus had spun around in shock and gaped at the sudden display of carnage that had erupted in the middle of the base.

After several moments of silence between the trio General Oraka turned and glanced between his two subordinates.

"...well?" He looked expectantly at Victus and Saren. "Get going! Secure the perimeter and find out what happened!" He barked, pointing in the general direction of the explosion and causing both the Colonel and Cabal to dash off, joining the security teams rushing towards the site of the explosion.

"Honestly, spirits help me if these children are my replacements." The old General muttered with a shake of his head, wishing that he were just back on the Citadel as he walked back towards the _Wraith's Wing_.

Xxx

 **Approximately 1400 hours (30 minutes ago)**

It had been a tedious task to sneak through the outer perimeter. Grump had done his best to mark the sensor posts, allowing the humans to move around the more concentrated scanners that were capable of piercing their Stealth Fields while remaining hidden from the few patrols. The area past the outer perimeter was where the forest began to thin out and open up into the fields that surrounded New Taiyuan. There were also fewer patrols, allowing the humans to pause to give their Stealth Generators time to recharge as they crept through the countryside.

"Sir, the foliage will no longer provide adequate cover for us." Zero informed Owen, who nodded and looked around as the group stopped once again, the inner perimeter now in sight almost a hundred feet out past the tree line and the sound of engines could be heard all the way from where the group was currently squatting.

"Alright," Owen nodded and looked back to his team, "Stealth Field status, now."

"That last walk got me back up to a full charge." Campbell answered while sweeping the area with his rifle sights.

The same could be said for pretty much the entire team. If they time it right they could rush across the field under cover of their Generators and breach the perimeter without being seen, find another place to lay low within the base and then take their time identifying their targets.

Owen stood up, "Okay, this is it. Keep close and try to identify either of our targets: fuel depots and a frigate sized ship."

He vanished once again, and the team moved out of the cover of the tree line and across the field to where prefabricated structures and hastily dug trenches acted as the base perimeter. Several aliens could be found patrolling these narrow passages and it became a chore to remain undetected when the slightest movement could dislodge some dirt and give them away, but the humans managed to make it through the trenches without incident and carefully navigated their way around the sensor devices.

Owen stopped as he moved between two of the prefabs and felt someone bump into him, but luckily everyone had the good sense not to curse or complain even as the team suffered a brief pileup. A pair of patrolling aliens passed in front of them, wandering between the rows of structures that seemed to serve as either housing or storage for the invading army.

"Okay, go." He stepped out into the open and moved across the to the next row, the team following behind him while taking caution to not bump into him again.

"Hey, I think I see the frigate." Edward whispered, "Off to the right, the big white and red one with the wings on it."

The others followed his directions and saw the ship standing out among the other single story buildings. It looked like some bird of prey, designed to look more aesthetically pleasing to the ye than Alliance ships, but after witnessing a whole fleet of similar ships wipe out the defence fleet and take control of the _Chairman_ Owen was not willing to right if off as anything short of dangerous.

"Good work Rice," Owen said in approval, "Mark that frigate Grump, we'll keep looking for the fuel depot."

"Sir, my Stealth Generator's about to run dry, about two minutes left on it." Campbell reported, "We need a place to lay low."

Owen knew that if Campbell's Generator was about to go then that meant everyone else wasn't far behind. The only problem was that they couldn't just open up any of the nearby structures to peek inside and see if they were empty.

"Grump, is that stealth satellite still in position to point us to any clear zones?"

" _Got one just fifty meters ahead and with only one group of hostiles between you and it, so I'd suggest you get your asses moving._ "

Heeding the AI's advice, they began to pick up the pace until they reached another wider open area that looked like some sort of outdoor mess hall. A slanted roof for blocking out rain, no walls, rows of tables with benches and almost twenty aliens dining at them. They had no helmets, some weren't even in combat armour. This would be the first time that any of them had seen what the aliens really looked like under their armour, and to be honest...they could now understand why the aliens were being called 'Raptors'.

Angular, scaled appearances with metallic carapaces, talon tipped hands, lower jaws with divided mandibles, forward facing eyes and an overall mix of avian and reptilian features. It was like looking at the step between dinosaurs and birds.

Some of them differed from the rest beyond simply having a differently shaped fringed or colour of scale. Their forms were more curved, their heads more rounded and smoother with larger eyes. These were possibly the females of the species.

"Damn it Grump, I thought you said 'one group'." Owen whispered as the team began to move around the mess area.

" _I did...it was just a big group._ "

Luckily they managed to get beyond the mess area and found their way into a section of the camp stacked with crates which served to conceal them from sight as their Stealth Generators ran dry.

"That was cutting it too close." Parker breathed as she settled in against one stack of crates and set her SMG next to her.

Owen ignored her and examined the area for any signs of security devices. "You'd think they'd have some form of electronic security in here."

"Maybe they just didn't think that they'd need it." Victoria proposed from where she was keeping watch on the different entry points. "We only got in because Grump was able to spot their sensor relays and because our Stealth Generators fooled their passive scans, anyone else would have been picked off before they got past the outer perimeter."

"After they've shown themselves to be incredibly organized and efficient you think they'd make a mistake like that?" Owen chuckled, shaking his head. "No, these guys aren't amateurs."

"As entertaining as it is to listen to this, I'm obliged to inform you that we passed several dozen layers of visual sensors on our way in." Zero informed them.

"...come again?" Parker growled, glaring at the android.

Zero shrugged. "Since our Stealth Generators apparently allowed us to get past them without triggering them I didn't see any point in bringing it up." She explained, "And as for why this particular area lacks any security...I'm jamming it as we speak."

"And you decided not to mention that second part...why?" Owen asked, glowering at Zero and picturing the amused smile beneath her helmet.

"Because I've noted on my chemical scanners that the aggression of every person on this team tends to spike whenever I involve myself in conversations," Zero shrugged and leaned back in a relaxed pose. "Manifest possessed a lot of information on the technology these aliens use. I can't say for certain if they were somehow already aware of them or if the aliens' technology is simply compatible with the Prothean technology found on Mars but my electronic warfare suite has been easily setting the weaker sensors within twenty meters on a loop to make it look like we simply don't exist."

Parker stormed over and leaned down so that she was glaring right into the android's visor through her own. "Keep it up Synth, you're just adding up the reasons for me to trash you after we don't need you anymore."

"I'm not a replaceable piece of hardware, Inquisitor." Zero replied, more forcefully than before. "I can't say the same for a Ghoul with temper problems and a lingering xenophobia typical of the Pre-War Era who prefers to take her anger out on me just because it's convenient for you to vent your frustrations that way." She tilted her head. "And yes, I did just get that from your psych profile. Want to know more?"

Parker was shaking now, and it didn't take a psychiatrist to know that she was just about ready to lunge at Zero.

"Enough!" Owen snapped. "Parker, go sit down. Zero, shut up."

Zero shrugged again but obeyed. Parker stormed back over to where her SMG was and plopped down, picking up the weapon and fingering the safety on and off while glaring at Zero.

"Uh..." Nathan looked between the two. "My Stealth Generator is almost back up to full now. Sir, maybe we should split the team up? One hits the frigate with Zero while the other keeps looking for the fuel depot...preferably with Janie?"

Owen nodded. "My thoughts exactly Sergeant," He agreed, "Zero and Rice, you're with me on the frigate. Grey, take Campbell and Parker and keep looking for the fuel. These aliens fuel their ships with something and it has to be flammable so keep looking and make sure it makes a big boom when you set it off."

"No need to tell me twice, uncle." Victoria sighed as she got up. "Come on Parker, we're heading out."

Parker silently climbed to her feet and followed Victoria and Nathan to the edge of the rows of crates. The trio activated their Stealth Generators and kept close as they resumed their search. In the meantime the other half of the squad set a course for the frigate.

Xxx

 **Approximately 1425 hours**

"Janie, we need to have a long talk after we get back to base." Nathan said as the trio slipped between a set of alien tanks in what seemed to be a motor pool. "I get that you have a bone to pick, but doing it in the middle of a mission is-"

"Don't even," Jane growled, "Campbell, shut your jaw or I'll pry it off."

Nathan shook his head despite how the gesture would go unseen. "Fine, be a stone cold bitch like you usually are." He muttered.

"If you two are done, I think I have our target." Victoria's irritated voice said through their channel. "Up ahead, fifteen degrees on the left and right behind the landing pads."

Both of them saw the larger shapes sticking out among the maze of structures. They were more rounded and did not look like prefab buildings, but metallic fuel tanks which stuck about twenty feet into the air and were surrounded by several turrets and patrolling Raptors.

"Well...that should be easy to get through." Nathan commented after a moment's silence.

Victoria turned and glared at the shimmer that she believed to be Nathan. "Why the hell would you say that right before we head over there?" She demanded. "God damn it Campbell! And people keep saying that both my families are magnets for trouble."

"Yeah...about that topic," Nathan awkwardly stated, "Did you and the Captain, you know...talk that out?"

"He got this mission together in a couple hours' time, didn't he?"

"Yeah, it got him off his ass and into the fight again but...I didn't hear much besides the shouting." Nathan responded while watching their six and moving backwards to keep up with them, "Were there any emotional revelations, some personal heart to heart talk or something?"

"We got pissed at each other and he stormed out while basically saying that he had bigger issues to deal with than me, primarily living long enough to get pissed at my dad for keeping me a secret." Victoria mumbled bitterly and felt Jane's hand on her shoulder, stopping her from walking right into the path of a vehicle which lumbered by on a set of six wheels. "Damn. Thanks Parker."

"Ghouls: keeping you smooth skins alive since 2077." Parker drawled.

"So...seriously, there was no drama whatsoever? You managed to get him out of his whole 'survivor's guilt' funk just by getting him pissed?" Nathan asked in astonishment.

Victoria shrugged as they crossed to the security fence surrounding the fuel depot. "You'd be surprised how easily that gets people on both sides of my family moving. Just bury your feelings and sprinkle the ground with the blood of a few dozen of your enemies...makes for some good therapy."

"...Just for the record: I'm starting to believe all those rumours about your grandparents being psychotic," Nathan informed her.

"Just for the record: I don't care." Victoria looked at Jane, or at least at the vague shimmering outline that she believed to be Jane. "Arm and hand me one of your explosives."

Parker handed one charge off after priming it, being careful since they were all still borderline invisible to the naked eye along with everything attached to them. "Here. What's the plan?"

"The plan," Victoria stood up and moved away from the fence, keeping one eye on the guards milling about near the gate and also making sure she didn't wander out into the path of some oncoming vehicle, "Is for me to put my family's baseball skills to use."

"I thought Masons preferred soccer," Nathan commented.

"Talking about the Shepard side, moron," Victoria sighed and then reared back her arm, flinging the charge over the fence as it became visible.

One of the guards spotted it in the corner of his vision and looked around, walking through the open gates and in between the fuel tanks where the charge had landed.

"Oh...fuck." Parker stood up. "Campbell...get your ass up and move!"

They both got up and rushed away from the fence, kicking up some dirt in their haste and gaining the guard's attention. He looked through the fence and stood up quickly, holding the charge in one hand.

Victoria was now on the far side of the road from the depot. She dropped her stealth field and held up one hand, palm up. "Parker. Detonator. Now!"

Parker slapped the device into Victoria's waiting palm as she and Nathan reached her position. The guard holding the charge spotted Victoria in her jet black armour as she stood up, but before he could even say or do anything she pressed down on the detonator. The charge went off in his hand and killed the unfortunate alien instantly, and what little was left of his body was incinerated in the explosion that followed as the two tanks on either side of him exploded into flames and showered the surrounding area with shrapnel. The rest of the ranks wet up next, reducing the surrounding guards and turrets to burnt husks of their former selves while generating enough force to knock all three of the infiltrators off their feet even after they'd distanced themselves from the source.

As the explosion faded Nathan sat up and shook his head, feeling his ears ringing even with his helmet protecting them from the ear splitting roar of the detonation. "Ugh...I hate physics." He muttered and looked to his companions, both of whom were already beginning to get up. "So...you think that was a big enough boom for Mason?"

Xxx

"Well," Mason commented from where he and his half of the squad were in hiding about halfway across the camp, "I did tell them to make it big."

"The frigate's open, but if we don't move now they might lock it down." Zero warned him while pointing to the still open ramp leading into the frigate.

"Right, let's move!"

It was a short run, barely a hundred feet from their hiding spot. They had stopped to let their Stealth Generators recharge again and were now easily able to step up onto the ramp without being noticed by the guards, however they had to move slower now that they were on a metal surface since their stealth fields could not muffle the sound of their footsteps. Almost as soon as they were on the ramp began to rise up, forcing them to quickly make their way to the regular floor of what appeared to be a cargo bay before the room was sealed.

The first thing that Owen noted was how...dark the interior was compared to an Alliance, Brotherhood or even a Manifest ship. Usually there would be plenty of lights to illuminate a room this size, but instead there were whole sections that were plunged into darkness.

"We have a problem." Zero announced.

"Oh you know I hate bad news." Owen sighed as he looked over to her.

"The on board sensors are much stronger than the ones we passed before," Zero revealed, "The enemy has detected us."

...

"Fuck."

Suddenly a noise began to wail through the room much similar to the siren of an alarm. The few aliens present dropped whatever they were doing, drew their weapons and began to scan the room.

Xxx

On the bridge of the _Wraith's Wing_ Commander Oramius was looking at a screen displaying the signatures of three intruders in the cargo bay.

"How the blazes did these primitives get on board?" He demanded, "Dispatch security teams and sync up interior sensors to Omni-Tools!"

A team of six Turian soldiers were already in the elevator leading down to the cargo bay and had data being fed to them directly from the sensors. Now they would be able to find the general location of the trio, and even without being able to see them clearly they would be able to follow a piece of wisdom widely known throughout the galaxy: most fire fights are won by the side that can put the most shots downrange the fastest.

"Should we open the hatch back up and let reinforcements on sir?"

Oramius shook his head. "Negative, there could be even more humans out there. We keep the ship sealed and let security deal with these three." He looked to the communications array. "And someone inform General Oraka of our situation!"

Xxx

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing Files...**

 **File opened: Synthetics**

 **In Citadel Space this term was applied primarily to the enigmatic race known as the Geth, formerly servants of the Quarian race who rose up and annihilated the majority of their creators. This term was also applied to Artificial Intelligence and even Virtual Intelligence. However the Systems Alliance has used this term for a section of their population called 'Synths' or Androids.**

 **Synths have existed for well over two hundred years and were initially developed by the mysterious organization known as the Institute. The first generation were crude mechanical constructs who could be described as skeletal, the second generation was more refined and capable of passing as a human through an artificial skin layer, but the third and latest generation of Synths have completely broken the mold. They are bio-mechanical beings capable or mimicking a human in every way from possessing individuality and absorbing nutrients through food consumption to even reproducing. It is this generation that leaves even the people of the Alliance, who are well accustomed to artificial intelligence afraid of the possibility of a Synth uprising or people being replaced by Synths.**

 **The Institute is presumed destroyed as of 2287, meaning that the primary manufacturer of these Third Generation Synths is no longer in operation, but other groups and even governments have been attempting to replicate this work and have managed to construct First and Second Generation Synths to serve as workers or even soldiers. Second Generation Synths are most common in Alliance Space as they possess free will but can be easily identified when compared to a real human, although they still meet their fair share of suspicion.**

 **It is also believed that Manifest makes use of Second Generation Synthetics, promising them upgrades or even new bodies in return for their services. On one occasion an android by the name of 'Zero' was involved in a Manifest operation before being reprogrammed, resulting in whatever persona Manifest made use of being erased. Zero displayed the use of advanced weapons technology never before seen by the Alliance at the time, leading some to believe that the Institute still endures and is even working in cooperation with Manifest.**

 **File closed**

Aaaand there we have it! Man this chapter was a long one...so much for writing shorter chapters. Sorry about that folks but I just squeeze too much in to each chapter.

Also...guess who has two thumbs and is now a slave to Fallout 4! ME! Speaking of which, the game calls to me again! SO LONG SUCKERS! (The reader then cackles as he runs out of the recording booth and is then heard driving away in his car)

But seriously, I am in love with the latest installment of the Fallout franchise, and it is making me reconsider so many things about this story. I'm not going to go back and rewrite it but I am going to try and apply some parts of Fallout 4 to this story's timeline.

There will be a Lone Survivor, he or she will have become famous throughout the Commonwealth and the Institute WILL make an appearance in this.

But aw man, the things I now need to keep track of...let me count them off.

1) The Adventures of Owen Mason & Friends as they face off with Saren & Company

2) Captain Death Claw and his fight against the Turian Fleet

3) Rear Admiral Pridius' first day on the job

4) Admiral Trisun's head to head clash with General Desolas

5) The Citadel Council doing _something_ (hold your gasps of shock)

6) The Alliance _trying_ to do something and the ongoing fight for New Taiyuan.

7) The sub plot about Victoria Mason/Shepard/Grey and her connection to Owen.

Wow...did I pack too much stuff into this part of the story?

In other news, my time is partially taken up by school work and the rest by an original story that I'm working on, a science fiction/fantasy story that I feel has a lot of potential. If it goes anywhere I'll consider posting it somewhere or publishing it on a website-and I'll be sure to let you all know if anybody is interested.

Now for responses to reviews!

 **SITHIS ARCANIS – Ah, my mistake. That just makes me all the more relieved since that means the chances of a camouflaged Death Claw are now slim to none...which I am certain everyone can agree is a good thing.**

 **Buonadonna – Perhaps, but suits in Mass Effect still seem capable of absorbing large amounts of heat. In Mass Effect 2 you can withstand a direct hit from a particle beam for a few seconds and survive the intense heat of Maelstrom's sun. The Geth managed to survive the latter without any issues at all, so maybe plasma weapons wouldn't even be as effective against them as they would be against organics.**

 **Tylermech66 – Chameleo Mutata...hm...interesting. Must consider that in event of rewrite. Ah yes, and the chameleon part again. Now I'm just picturing a Death Claw that's bright pink...still frightening, but funny. As far as I care they're still a slaughter house on two legs regardless of the colour.**

 **Pacer287 – Thanks for the input!**

 **OMAC001 – Oh he's definitely in for one hell of a ride before this is all over, I'll tell you that much.**

 **Ngrey651 – Ah well, can't win it all. And yeah, I was really trying to make the point stick that humans with psychic powers are not a very significant thing compared to a whole race that can live to be a thousand years AND use Biotics AND meld minds with others to the point of killing them (See Ardat Yakshi).**

 **Guest – Wish granted my friend!**


	12. Chapter 11: Shanxi Insurgency Part 3

The Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

Before we start things off in this chapter I'd just like to extend a big thank you to my readers. I got FOURTEEN REVIEWS for the last chapter. That is a record for me! And this story now has over three hundred followers and over two hundred people who have added it to their favourites!

For this chapter I have decided not to post individual responses to every review since I don't want the post-chapter notes to be several pages longer than they already are. Instead I shall personally thank every person who reviewed the previous chapter by the point of this chapter being posted.

 **Ngrey651, 5 Coloured Walker, buonadonna, TLau18, OMAC001, reality deviant, Mecaldar, Guest #1, Radon088, tylermech66, metaladdict, Chronus1326, M6I99 the second and Guest #2-**

 **...aaaaaand Space King Wizard Duck who posted a review right as I was typing this.**

Make that fifteen reviews.

Thank you all for your support. Every suggestion, criticism, conspiracy theory and speculation on what is to come is appreciated.

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

Oh and before we start this chapter...to Mecaldar regarding the bit about the Cloaking Death Claws...

WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU TELL ME THAT MAN?! Oh man now I'm going to be watching every corner with paranoia whenever I play that game on my main character! Nightmare Fuel, that's what it is!

Xxx

Chapter Eleven: The Shanxi Insurgency, Part 3, Monsters & Demons

 **Serpent Nebula**

 **Citadel Station, Citadel Tower**

 **Four days after Turian landing (March 15th)**

"The Hierarchy has already taken steps to ensure that Desolas can't call for additional military assets, and just in time I might add." Councillor Sparatus informed his colleagues as they reconvened in the Council Chambers, which had been cleared of the usual rabble of delegates and aides and filled in by military advisors, STG members and a few Asari Matriarchs choosing to appear personally with their own entourage. "He attempted to requisition another dreadnaught just before the _Nova_ arrived at Aephus Shipyards along with other damaged ships from General Arterius' task force. The commanding officers have been detained for debriefing and the Primarchs have authorized the mobilization of the 24th Reserve Flotilla to secure the 314 Relay."

Councillor Zenthis remained still as a statue throughout Sparatus' opening speech, his gaze unnerving the Turian until Councillor Tevos spoke.

"What information has the Hierarchy gained from these commanders?" She inquired.

Sparatus examined his findings again. "They claim that General Arterius responded to a hostile first contact scenario, with another race being the aggressor in the situation." He answered, "I have information straight from the Cruiser _Valor_ , which was leading the initial reconnaissance of the system. Captain Pridius encountered a group of five unknown ships and proceeded to follow first contact protocols to the letter. One Commander Onkari of the cruiser _Seeker_ intended to initiate first contact with his own battle group before three additional vessels arrived through the relay and opened fire."

The Councillor swallowed a bit as his eyes scanned the next line. "...and I have testimony of Captain Pridius confirming that in the aftermath of the battle that ensued he did discover evidence from the combat recordings giving him reason to believe that the three vessels from the second group of unknown ships were the aggressive party and separate from the initial five." He announced. "When the unknown hostiles opened fire on Commander Onkari's battle group Captain Pridius had reacted in haste and had his entire flotilla initiate a short range jump to assist. There is also an unaltered record of the battle included that STG has already been provided."

"Indeed, and they have verified that there are no signs of tampering." Councillor Zenith nodded slowly, "Captain Pridius' actions are understandable but shall require some manner of disciplinary action. However I can only assume that General Arterius was made aware of this information and has chosen to act in spite of it."

Sparatus sighed. "...yes." He admitted, "It was in fact General Arterius who revealed this to Captain Pridius. The General used his own authority to gather his task force and initiate a campaign to pacify this unknown race or at least secure any routes connecting their space to Council territories. But the most disturbing news is in the reports on the technology and...biology of the specimens recovered from the battle."

The Turian activated his Omni-Tool and quickly tapped in a command, causing projectors built into the walls of the Council Chambers to activate while the windows showing the nebula outside were covered by metal shutters. Images of the enemy ships and recovered bodies were displayed, each large enough to be examined by the ring of military advisors lining the audience chamber.

"As you can see from the medical reports, there were no less than two distinct species inhabiting these ships." Sparatus continued to elaborate. "And among one of these species there were three sub species with genetic similarities and signs of what appears to be genetic alteration along with signs of minor to moderate radiation damage in some while others..." He could hear a chorus of shocked and horrified whispers as an image of what they would come to know as a Ghoul was shown next to that of a human and a Super Mutant. "Show signs of radiation damage that would kill even a Turian or a Krogan."

Tevos actually took a step back, her face a mask of horrified shock as she struggled to form words.

"And as for their weapon technology...they utilized a form of weaponized plasma far superior to our own efforts in the field and direct energy weapons of superior quality to GARDIAN laser arrays. With these weapons they inflicted significant damage and in many cases bypassed Kinetic Barriers entirely."

Sparatus dismissed these images. "According to the reports General Arterius is justifying this action based on the perceived fallout of this collective gaining access to the galaxy at large."

Zenthis straightened up. "I've heard enough." He said quickly and firmly, causing Sparatus to clamp his mandibles shut immediately. "As a former member of STG I can appreciate General Arterius' foresight...but it is not his place to make these decisions, and it is certainly not his place to bypass the Primarchs and more importantly this Council. If he had at least waited for STG or Turian Black Watch to acquire information on these aliens before attacking I would at least credit him with some measure of self control."

The Salarian turned to Tevos. "Councillor Tevos, General Arterius has declared war against a coalition which we have next to no vital tactical information on. We have no idea of their numbers, how many worlds they control or their full capabilities and he has already committed over a hundred ships to invading their space without authorization from his leaders. With this in mind we no longer have the luxury of time...we must act now."

Tevos composed herself and placed both hands on her pedestal. "Yes," She nodded, "You are correct Councillor Zenith. I may not be a strategist but I do know that we have two choices now. We may either support General Arterius in his campaign or oppose him...and I doubt that anyone on this Council would need long to come to a decision."

"My thoughts exactly," Zenith said before addressing the collection of military advisors. "Clear the Council Chambers."

Dozens of aliens from several species filed out silently, the knowledge of General Arterius' decision weighing heavily on them. Certain words could be commonly found being exchanged in hushed conversation such as 'war' or 'genocide'.

For centuries the galaxy had enjoyed a relative peace. Save for the raids of pirates from the Terminus Systems and the under-the-table tactics of criminal organizations there were many who could not remember a time when worlds had been in danger of invasions the likes of which some older Krogan could still remember either repelling in the Rachnii War or conducting in the Krogan Rebellions.

What was decided in the Council Chamber over the next few minutes would change the face of Galactic society for centuries to come.

Xxx

 **Shanxi System, Shanxi Orbit**

 **Turian Dreadnaught** _ **A'kalez**_

 **Command Deck**

"An entire patrol group?" Rear Admiral Kravos Pridius stared at the system map. "Just gone without a word?"

Hen'ar, recently transferred from the _Valor_ and promoted to Commander to continue serving as Kravos' XO nodded grimly. "The wrecks were found an hour after they went dark. It was just on the outer edge of the system's asteroid belt...and the damage is consistent with the weaponry on the Alliance fighters. Direct energy weapons that bypassed the barriers and targeted defensive guns and communication arrays first to declaw and silence the patrol followed by holes being melted in every deck."

She expanded the image of a Turian Cruiser, specifically one of several Myrdimion Light Cruisers that had arrived as part of the wave of reinforcements accompanying the ground force. Myrdimions were favored as patrol ships due to being faster than the conventional eight hundred meter Centhian class cruiser like the _Valor_ and for how a new form of mass accelerator design allowed it to pack the same punch while being almost three hundred meters shorter. The only criticism it faced was the reduced amount of armour and anti fighter screens, but that was usually balanced out by a frigate escort...for what little that had done.

"Given the lack of evidence of Alliance casualties I would assume that they hit the group hard and fast before they could launch their own fighters or even get a shot off." Hen'ar indicated areas where the GARDIAN turrets had been melted into misshapen husks. "That sort of ferocity and lack of casualties would require a large amount of fighters, and if I do recall the Alliance did employ a dreadnaught sized ship that appeared to utilize a large amount of them."

That had caught many Captains off guard. The presence of the ship had made them think that the Alliance was about to unleash a dreadnaught based plasma weapon against them that could annihilate whole ships, but secondary analysis had revealed that it lacked any spinal mounted guns and instead had several rows of hangars traversing its length, containing and disgorging more fighters than any single patrol group possessed. The lack of a main cannon appeared to be balanced out by stronger barriers, broadside guns and defensive turrets, as the ship had been able to limp away from the fight mostly intact in spite of how much the Turians had thrown at it.

The ship had been labelled a 'Mobile Fighter Platform' or MFP-0 for short.

"So the human-no, the _Alliance_ fleet still remains within this system," Kravos said while leaning on the display, still adjusting to having a proper label to identify his foe by after spending too long simply referring to them by race. "I shouldn't be surprised. We didn't catch them at the relay, but I'd assumed that while we were busy overwhelming their defences they would have retreated back to friendly space."

Hen'ar nodded. "Instead they are still here and conducting hit and run attacks on our patrols." She added, "And this success might embolden them to take further action unless we either find their hiding place or manage to intercept their next attack."

Kravos peered at the map, noting the position of the ambush. The Alliance had chosen their target well and executed their attack quickly enough that it had been the lack of contact rather than a distress call which alerted him to the destruction of the patrol. They would feel a surge of confidence from this victory, but they would not act so hastily with all Turian ships now on guard. And presenting them with a vulnerable target would not do...

There was a bit of wisdom passed down from a Krogan Warlord back in the days of the Rebellions: your enemy is always most vulnerable when they think they're winning, it's your job to put the thought in their head and then to let them do the rest.

"Double patrol strengths in the outer areas of the system," Kravos ordered, "Two cruisers, each with a frigate escort. And add another cruiser to the relay guard flotilla."

"That will...leave our position around the human colony rather weakened sir," Hen'ar pointed out.

"I know." Kravos nodded, "But we need the enemy to think they have us scared. In the meantime deploy probes throughout the inner system and keep a watch on the asteroid belt. Set them all to emit passive scans, high intensity ones would get noticed and they'd have time to jump away before we get anywhere near them."

Hen'ar nodded. "At once, Admiral."

Xxx

 **Shanxi System, Shanxi**

 **Turian Airbase** _ **Iaecalas,**_ **Frigate** _ **Wraith's Wing,**_ **Cargo Hold**

 **March 14** **th** **, 2353, 1435 hours**

"Cover!" Owen bellowed, pulling Edward to the side and behind a pillar as the aliens flooding out of the elevator locked onto their position and sprayed it with gun fire.

Zero moved in the opposite direction and smoothly rolled behind a row of consoles near the cargo hatch. She fired several bursts with pin point accuracy, managing to bring down one of the armored soldiers and two of the Raptors who had originally been in the hangar-the latter lacking the personal shields and armour of their counterparts. One of these soldiers knelt and set their rifle on their back while holding one arm parallel to the ground. When Zero tried to draw up a bead on his head an orange barrier appeared in the form of an arm mounted shield and sent her bullets ricocheting away.

"...well," The android leaned back into cover just in time to avoid being riddled with holes, "That's certainly new."

The shield bearer began to advanced under the protection of his newly revealed defence while one of his companions moved behind him in a half crouch. Both Owen and Edward fired on them only to waste an entire clip without so much as making the shield flicker.

"The hell is that thing?" Owen demanded while swapping clips.

"Analysis indicates that it is an intensely focused mass effect field holding silicon carbide in the form of a shield," Zero answered while firing blindly around the corner of the console row, her shots just as accurate as that of her human companions if not more so.

"English!"

"It's a solid hologram shaped into a shield and reinforced to the point of being stronger than diamonds, minus the brittleness."

"Thank you." Owen exhaled, "Rice, grenades on my mark. Try to roll it to their sides and don't overshoot!"

Edward nodded and produced one of his grenades at the same time as Owen. Both primed the explosive spheres and counted down before spinning out from cover and using a light underhanded toss to roll the grenades along the floor. The shield bearer saw this through the transparent barrier and babbled something to his companion while backing up quickly, but Zero took this chance to toss a grenade of her own. Unlike Owen and Edward however she possessed a brain as strong as a super computer and was able to instantly calculate the landing point of this grenade with a single glance before tossing it overhead so that it landed behind the retreating pair.

By the time they realized the gravity of their situation the Raptors had no time to react before the first two grenades went off. Their back pedalling had saved them and allowed the shield to take the brunt of the attack, but the force of the combined detonations was enough to push them off balance and left them helpless when the third grenade went off and turned them into a bloody mess of shattered limbs and chunks of meat that were scattered around the site of the explosion.

With half of their response team down the remaining Raptor soldiers began to pour suppressing fire on the trio of intruders while the regular crew retreated towards the elevator.

"If they go up that elevator they could lock us in here," Edward pointed out.

Zero looked over at the two men. "I knew that, but I needed a thorough scan of the elevator shaft to find it out. How did you know?"

"Because it's what I'd do if my security team sucks." The Knight replied plainly.

"Don't let them pull out," Owen summarized, "Simple yet unlikely to happen."

"I can stop them if you can draw their fire." Zero suggested as she slid her SMG onto her back.

Owen nodded. "Do it," He gestured to Edward, "Move across, I'll cover you. On three. One. Two. THREE!"

Edward dashed out into the open at the same time as Zero. While he rushed across the open cargo bay to the row of sparking and smoking consoles the android vaulted out of cover and began to easily navigate the vast room, leaping over obstacles and sliding between cover so fast that the Raptors were hard pressed to even land any shots close to her as she moved with the speed of a cheetah. Within ten seconds she had managed to cross the room and reach the elevator, surprising the five crewmen who had been in the process of stepping inside.

Zero grasped the closest from behind and twisted his neck with more force than necessary, not knowing how much pressure she needed to apply compared to a human and ending up twisting the poor alien's head around a full hundred and eighty degrees. She let him drop without stopping for even a moment and grabbed the outstretched pistol of the next Raptor crewman, tearing the weapon from his grip with inhuman strength and damaging at least one of his fingers before she brought the gun back around and smashed it into the side of his face. One of his lower mandibles clattered to the floor along with what must have passed for teeth as the Raptor collapsed in a pool of his own blood. In that same moment Zero's left leg struck out as she leaned in the opposite direction and hit her third victim in the neck with a perfectly executed roundhouse kick-and Zero had already calculated based on her earlier move that the blow had been enough to fatally fracture the alien's spine.

As the android dealt with the remaining crew Owen and Edward managed to bring down one of the three soldiers still focusing on them and were quickly focusing their fire on another who took shelter behind a shield similar to the one from before. As Owen continued to let loose short and controlled bursts to keep from wasting too much of his continuously depleting ammo Edward move around to flank the soldier from the left. The Knight knelt and took aim before noticing something.

"Wait..." He counted off how many soldier he had seen exit the elevator. "Six..." He took count of how many had fallen since then. "Four..." His eyes returned to the soldier crouching behind his shield, "Five...where's six?"

He saw some movement in his peripheral vision and looked over, spotting the missing Raptor climbing over the stacks of crates and positioning himself above Owen, who was focused on keeping his target pinned.

Edward swung his SMG around. "Captain look out!" He shouted and fired, catching the Raptor off guard and making his barriers flash.

Xxx

Owen was keeping up the fire on the shield bearer, waiting for Edward to finally flank and drop the avian soldier. He noticed that the Brotherhood Knight appeared to be taking a little too long after going through yet another clip, leaving him at just two spares for his rifle. While ejecting the empty magazine Owen pondered calling out to Edward only to hear the younger man first.

"Captain look out!" Bullets flew overhead, bringing Owen's attention to the form perched several feet above him. He let his rifle drop and instead pulled out his sidearm, aiming up just as the second Raptor leapt from the stack of crates and landed on Owen before he could get more than two shots off-one of them luckily pierced the alien's barriers and tore a hole through their rifle. Both combatants went down, wrestling with one another and now too close for Edward to get a clean shot.

Xxx

Edward saw Owen go down beneath the Raptor. "Shit!" He muttered through clenched teeth as he tried to get a clear shot.

Only the shield bearer opening fire reminded the Knight of his own problems. He moved back behind the console and quickly checked his remaining ammunition: three clips for the SMG, three for the pistol and two more grenades along with a proton knife. Edward swapped one clip into the SMG and palmed his second grenade. Before priming and tossing it he glanced over the top of the consoles and tried mimicking Zero's earlier throw, lobbing the grenade over head and landing it close to the Raptor.

Unfortunately he didn't have a hyper competent synthetic brain or hand-eye coordination like Zero, so his grenade landed short of its intended target and only succeeded in staggering him. This still gave Edward a chance to take aim at where the alien's gun arm was now exposed. The grenade appeared to have weakened the alien's barriers in spite of the arm mounted shield, as he was able to breach them on his second burst and tear through the armour beneath, splattering blue blood on the floor plating and making the alien cry out as his weapon clattered to the floor.

Xxx

Owen in the meantime was wrestling with his own opponent, who managed to pin him down and rear back one arm. The same orange gauntlet seen before appeared, but instead of projecting a shield it formed what looked like a twelve inch blade which it plunged towards the human's head. Owen twisted out of the way at the last second and saw the blade easily sink into the plating just a few inches away; he noted a warning in his visor regarding the intense heat coming from the new weapon, not that he needed it when he could see the metal floor panel beginning to glow and melt around the blade.

"Holy shit," Owen whispered and brought one leg up between him and the Raptor sword bearer, pushing the alien back and tearing the orange blade out of the floor while giving Owen a chance to roll out of reach. At this close distance he couldn't go for one of his guns, and when the sword bearer saw him reaching for his Proton Knife it more than likely came to the same conclusion and chose to lunge at him.

The knife hilt came free of where it was secured to Owen's upper body and the blade of blue energy sprang to life just in time to parry the orange blade, forcing a stab to Owen's chest far off to the side so that it barely grazed his armour. Owen then flipped the weapon around in his grasp, recalling the months of training and the regular sparring that he had attempted to keep up with over the past thirty years and bringing his hand back towards the center while aiming the knife towards the side of the sword bearer's neck only to miss by a mere inch when the Raptor leaned back out of the way.

It occurred to Owen over the next few moments that even with his regular sparring and exercise sessions this alien had either significantly more recent training with a blade or superior physical qualities. His Proton Knife had come as a surprise to the sword bearer, but now Owen found himself dodging or blocking more often than he was attacking. It was all he could to avoid losing a limb or having a hole burned in his torso.

"Grump, I could use a hand!" Owen gasped for breath as he quickly stepped back to avoid a slice to his stomach.

" _Mason, do I look like I watch kung fu movies? How the hell am I supposed to help you in a knife fight?_ "

"Anything would help!"

Grump groaned. " _Try your VATS!_ "

If Owen had the time he'd have slapped himself. "Grump, I'm buying you an upgrade if I survive this." He said before triggering his VATS with a sub vocal command, causing the word to slow to a near pause just as the sword bearer was winding up for another swing.

Owen locked onto the searing hot blade first and watched as his arm move almost automatically, parrying the strike aside and leaving the sword bearer's arm vulnerable for the second hit. Owen's knife sank into its elbow joint before the sword bearer could recover, and the orange blade dissipated as a pained sound escaped from the Raptor before Owen's knee met its unprotected face and knocked it on its back.

He exhaled and deactivated his Proton Knife, placing it back where it belonged. "I'm really too old for this crap." Owen murmured before scooping up his rifle and then moving to check on Edward.

Xxx

The shield bearer had tried to retreat towards the elevator, but Edward had succeeded in getting around the shield and held his SMG close enough that even the Raptor's recharged barriers didn't save its life this time. One squeeze of the trigger later and the cargo bay was finally clear.

Zero in the meantime was administering a single shot to the head of any of the crew who either registered as still functional on her scanners or just did not seem quite dead enough for her taste. She looked over to the two as they approached. "Took you long enough."

"Well I didn't see you helping," Edward replied bitterly.

"You seemed like you had it handled."

"Enough." Owen stepped inside the elevator, "We're wasting time. Zero, can you hack this elevator to make sure they can't just lock us in?"

The android pried open a panel of buttons on the side wall and reached in, pressing one finger to the circuitry. "Just watch."

The elevator doors closed and the box of metal and glass began to ascend...rather slowly...it ridiculously slow actually.

Owen got impatient after almost half a minute. "Zero, speed it up."

"I'm already moving it at full speed."

"You're kidding...we're dealing with an advanced alien race that's mastered space flight but not the construction of an elevator?" Owen demanded, slamming a fresh clip into his rifle.

"Uh...apparently so," Zero shrugged, "I could override the safety limits if you desire, sir."

"How long will it take if you don't?"

The elevator began to slow down, its progress measurable by glancing through the clear side walls at the metal walls of the shaft and the lights they passed.

"Ten seconds."

Owen hefted his rifle and aimed it at the doors while Edward knelt next to him. "Then don't bother, just get in front of us and have your shield up and ready."

"Yes sir," Zero repositioned herself between them and the doors , the cocoon of energy beginning to glow around her.

"What's that?" Edward asked, lowering his rifle a bit as he examined the phenomenon.

"What you are observing is the activation of redundant emitters projecting a conventional kinetic barrier over my personal force field." Zero answered while checking her gun and swapping out a half empty magazine for a full one.

"You mean an...Over Shield?"

Zero looked over her shoulder. "I mean redundant barrier generators that absorb damage in place of my regular shields so that I can act as what you call a 'bullet sponge'."

Owen sighed. "Over Shield it is, now both of you clamp down on it and keep your eyes forward."

Xxx

 **Turian Frigate** _ **Wraith's Wing**_

 **Command Deck**

"Elevator controls have been overridden!" A crewman called out, "I can't regain control, they've locked me out of the system! I'll try to reboot or at least cut the power."

Commander Oramius glanced over his shoulder and looked through the holographic map at the center of the CIC towards the elevator doors. "Forget it, too late!" He pulled the man out of his seat and threw him to the floor. "Everyone down! Weapons free!"

It was generally unwise to fire weapons within a star ship, given the risk that a stray shot could damage vital systems or even pierce the hull if one used a heavy weapon of enough yield. Thankfully there were no such risks with the _Wraith's Wing_ parked firmly on solid ground. The Turian personnel were able to pull their side arms or fetch assault rifles from the emergency weapons rack which they quickly distributed until there were no more to spare.

Oramius grasped one of his crew by the shoulder and directed him towards the cockpit. "You need to initiate a data purge." He told the younger Turian, "We can't take the chance that they might gain access to restricted data. Go, now!" He sent the Lieutenant on his way and accepted a rifle from another of his subordinates as ten Turians spread out and took up positions around the CIC, using consoles and the display table as cover as the elevator reached their floor.

For several moments all was silent as the elevator settled into place.

And then the doors opened and a demon bathed in blue light roared through the opening, its opening shot taking out an unshielded Turian on its right. He had been positioned next to the elevator with a pistol in hand, prepared to administer a bullet at point blank range, but before he could even squeeze the trigger his torso began a shredded mess of meat and bone as he flopped lifelessly to the floor. By the time the rest of the Turians had opened fire this demon had repeated this on two more crewman who did not have the benefit of Kinetic Barriers. The Turians' return fire pounded on the shield surrounding the demon but appeared to do little to affect the barrier, allowing the demon's two companions to step out while using their companion as cover and pick off another of Oramius' crew.

Within moments Oramius' numbers had been cut in half, but now the rest were in cover and returning fire only when they saw it as safe. Oramius himself generated an Omni-Shield which he used to protect both himself and a crewman cradling an assault rifle behind him. The demon's barriers burst after enough rounds were poured into it, but a second barrier deflected the Turians' rounds entirely and seemed to absorb much more damage.

"Fall back to the cockpit!" Oramius shouted, "Funnel them in towards us!"

The Turians began to fall back, keeping up suppressing fire on the human strike team and not breaking even when one of the humans took an unfortunate Turian's head clean off with a shot from a pistol sized weapon with a resounding explosion of noise and gun powder. The remaining three Turian crewmen took shelter behind Oramius and continued to lay down fire as they backed down the corridor towards the cockpit.

"Lieutenant!" Oramius called into the cockpit. "Sound an alert and open the cargo bay doors back up! We need reinforcements here five minutes ago!"

It had been a foolish oversight not to allow reinforcements on board, but Oramius had been confident that they could contain the humans if not eliminate them entirely. Now most of his skeleton crew on this deck and the cargo deck were dead and the rest would likely not fair much better.

All of this done by only three humans.

Oramius felt fear for the first time since training, but he managed to suppress it and focus on simply staying alive.

Xxx

"Zero, try to access their computers!" Owen shouted as he inserted his last full clip into his rifle, "And pass me your SMG while you're at it." He caught the weapon with one outstretched hand and helped Edward to keep the Raptors fleeing towards the front of the ship while Zero approached the table at the center of the room and lay one hand flat on its surface.

"Accessing interface," Zero announced. "Access achieved. Disabling security protocols, please stand by."

By the time she spoke again Owen's rifle was empty and he was now using her SMG with carefully placed bursts. "Security protocols disabled. I'm in, but they're trying to purge their systems."

"Grab what you can!" Owen ordered.

"Already doing that...and they have opened the cargo bay doors back up. Enemy reinforcements are inbound. Disabling elevator to buy time, but they can override it the same way I did directly from the controls." Zero was working at a million miles a minute, her hands practically dancing over the three dimensional display as she began to download data directly to her on board computer. "Accessing data archive...acquiring intact files."

A couple rounds from the Raptors bounced off of Zero's shield, and she responded by swiftly drawing her sidearm with one hand and firing three times in retaliation without even stopping. Her shots struck home in the chest of one Raptor who had stood up to get a clear shot from behind the orange shield.

"Kindly keep them from interrupting my work." Zero requested.

Xxx

 _ **Wraith's Wing,**_ **Exterior**

"Commander Oramius has upgraded to full alert status and is attempting a data purge." General Oraka announced to the assembled Turians as a team worked on getting the cargo elevator working. "You know what that means, so get the maintenance shafts open and start climbing. We're short on time!"

He opened his Omni-Tool as a full squad made of a mix of Turian Black Watch and Ghosts rushed to get the two maintenance shafts in the corners of the cargo bay opened. "Arterius, Victus, status?"

" _The fuel depot is completely gone, sir!_ " Colonel Victus answered, " _Security footage showed it to be a single detonation creating a chain reaction...and that at least three humans were present moments before the explosion and utilizing personal stealth technology._ "

"Arterius, mobilize your unit and pair them up with Hunter-Killer teams." Oraka commanded, "Sweep the camp, make sure the armoury and supply depots are clear and under guard at all times. Set combat drone sensors to high intensity scans, Oramius confirmed that that can pick them up."

" _At once, General._ " Arterius replied, noticeably calmer than Victus.

Xxx

 **New Taiyuan**

 **Brother of Steel Citadel, Command Center**

 **1450 hours**

"It looks like Mason has stirred up the hornet's nest." Sentinel Noland chuckled, looking at a satellite produced image of the Raptor air field. "We shouldn't have expected anything less."

Williams nodded, for once setting his latest cigar down in an ash tray and not even looking back to it. "But now he's surrounded." He traced the circle of troops surrounding the enemy frigate. "Too many AA emplacements, too many hostiles to sneak by and even if he did get past them he's still out in enemy territory."

"Without assistance he is certainly doomed." Noland mused, looking down at the Colonel. "And the enemy intelligence will die with him."

Williams stared at the scene unfolding in the enemy air base, watching as Raptor soldiers surged aboard the grounded frigate.

"...tell the Crusaders that they're authorized to deploy." Williams said to Noland, "High altitude drop, no chutes. To the best of my recollection they've done low orbital drops before...correct?"

Noland grinned. "Right you are, Colonel!" He answered while opening his Pip-Boy. "This is Sentinel Noland to Crusader-Actual: you are authorized to deploy. Primary objective: secure an escape route for Captain Mason and his team. Secondary objectives are destruction of enemy assets on site and denial of Alliance prisoners."

" _This is Crusader-Actual, we are deploying._ " Without another word the speaker on the other end of the link cut out.

Noland crossed his arms and waited in anticipation. "...are you sure we should not have just sent the Ranger?"

"So he can keep squeezing my wallet?" Williams scoffed, "To hell with that!"

Xxx

 **Turian Airbase** _ **Ieacalas**_ **, Frigate** _ **Wraith's Wing**_

 **Command Deck**

"I have everything I was able to salvage." Zero said as she reloaded her pistol, "I suggest we evacuate the premises immediately."

"No, really?" Owen asked sarcastically as he tossed her SMG back to her and pulled out his own side arm. "Suggestions?"

"Calculating," Zero answered as she looked at the elevator, keeping her SMG aimed down the corridor towards the cockpit as she examined the ship layout again. "Hostiles are ascending through maintenance tunnels. They will be at our position in approximately twenty seconds."

"Less of that negativity and more giving me solutions if you wouldn't mind!" Owen demanded.

"Well I did just find the door controls, expanding those twenty seconds into several minutes," Zero shrugged, "Give or take depending on how fast they can cut through them."

Owen sighed and shook his head, glancing over at the android. "I don't suppose you have any solutions involving us escaping, do you?"

Zero glanced between the Turians guarding the cockpit and the doors leading to other areas of the deck. "...actually sir, I don't believe that we have any means of escaping with this data on our own." She answered, "However if the exterior sensors are accurate we may have help coming."

Xxx

General Septimus Oraka was standing outside the besieged _Wraith's Wing_ , receiving reports from both the teams sent to assist Oramius and the Hunter-Killer units scouring the camp. The humans continued to elude the latter, but he had a feeling that they may attempt to assist their companions on the frigate if this was an Intel Grab like it appeared to be.

"General! We have an alert coming from Fleet Surveillance!" An officer informed him, "A single human air craft is approaching. It's too high for our AA batteries to hit but our fighter pickets are moving to intercept it."

Reinforcements for the humans already present? Or an evac ship...but that would never get through the AA cover that Oraka had personally arranged when this base had been set up.

"Keep me informed on that situation as it develops." He responded to the officer, "In the meantime I need to keep myself focused on the matter at hand."

"Of course sir."

Oraka contacted the teams he had assigned to the maintenance shafts. "What's the status on those entry points?"

" _We're in sir! On the Command Deck now, but they somehow sealed the other doors. We're cutting through them as I speak._ "

"I want this frigate back in our hands in the next ten minutes, soldier!" Oraka stated firmly before closing the link, and just in time for the officer from before to report back to him.

"General, that air craft I told you about just accelerated and descended!" The officer opened his Omni-Tool and transferred the sensor readings to Oraka's for his convenience. "It's coming down on us fast and hard!"

Oraka's mandibles flared as he examined a counter marked 'ETA to impact' which was currently at about thirty seconds. "Where are my fighter pickets?"

"Moving to intercept now!"

Xxx

The Vertibird's engines were pushed to their limit as the drop ship roared high over the plains separating New Taiyuan from the alien base.

"We have Raptor craft coming at us from behind." The pilot informed the occupants in the troop compartment, "We may have to drop you early so I can clear out."

One of the bulky forms glanced through the door separating him from the cockpit and nodded. " _Understood,_ " It turned to the rest of its group and bellowed, " _Crusaders, prepare to drop!_ "

" _DROP!_ " Eleven voices greeted their squad leader, who shut the door to the cockpit.

" _We are the right hand of the Brotherhood, the unholy terrors of all who would threaten the sovereign ground of the Alliance, of humanity and our allies!_ " The squad leader shouted as he watched his subordinates strap themselves in to areas on the side of the troop compartment where there would usually be seats, but instead there were tubes lining these walls with enough space for a single large form to squeeze into comfortably.

" _TERROR!_ "

" _We all entered the Brotherhood thinking it would be a shining, wonderful experience. We all came along at different times and from different places but Logan Mason or Arthur Maxson and even Jason Maxson took all of us under their wing and squashed those day dreams out of us, gave us a slap upside the head and a fistful of reality! They took a bunch of panty waist kids playing at being soldiers and made us into bona fide bad asses!"_

" _BAD ASS!"_

" _And under them we have faced mutants, robot hordes, bandit armies, self appointed emperors, alien invaders and everything else that's crawled out from under a rock to mess up our fine day!_ " The squad leader banged one fist against his chest, " _This is not the end of humanity boys and girls! This is just a fucking Tuesday for us!_ "

" _HELL YEAH!_ "

" _Now we have some uninvited guests who have decided to set up shop here on Shanxi. The son of the man who trained us is down there with them, kicking ass and doing what his father would have done: take it right to these so called Raptors' teeth! Now it seems that the party has gotten a little too crowded, so Sentinel Noland has seen fit to bring us in to clean house! NOW GIVE ME OUR OBJECTIVES!_ "

" _Sir!_ " One of the soldiers, a woman from the sound of her voice shouted back. " _Secure perimeter around the enemy frigate!_ "

Another one spoke up. " _Sir! Ensure continued survival and escape of Captain Owen Mason!_ "

" _Sir! Deny Raptors Alliance prisoners and intel!_ "

The squad leader nodded. " _Damn straight, Crusaders!_ " He chuckled, " _Now let's go show these Raptors that if they wanna play with the Alliance, that if they wanna play with the big kids then they'd better be prepared to play rough!_ "

He squeezed into the one vacant tube and pulled a lever on the side causing it to slide shut.

The pilot's voice could be heard over a speaker in each tube. " _Approaching drop point._ " The ship shuddered a bit, " _Don't mind the turbulence._ "

" _For the courtesy of others, kindly fly this thing better._ " One of the Crusaders quipped.

" _Old man if I wanted a backseat driver then I would have done as my mama said and go into taxi driving._ " The Pilot retorted, " _Now buckle up, you drop in ten!_ "

The ship continued to shake as alien fighters closed in behind it. Turrets on the back of the Vertibird returned fire, but these fighters were far too nimble, certainly more than their own VTOL dropships were. One of the engines were hit and began to sputter, causing the vertibird to veer off to the left as smoke trailed behind it.

" _Five! Four! Three! Two-_ "

All twelve Crusaders roared in unison. " _DROP!_ "

The pilot slammed one fist down on a red button, causing twelve pods to shoot down away from the Vertibird and towards the alien camp below. Each pod had a large thruster on the top and several smaller ones for manoeuvring which guided the containers, ensuring that they would land exactly where they were intended.

Xxx

"Enemy air is moving off sir, but it just dropped something right down towards us!"

Oraka looked up and cursed. "EVERYONE GET CLEAR!" He shouted as loud as he could, "CLEAR THE AREA! NOW! BOMBING RAID!"

Turian soldiers scrambled for cover as large objects dropped down. At least one actually landed on several Turians, crushing them into an unrecognizable paste while others kicked up massive showers of dirt. In moments it was all over and the area around the _Wraith's Wing_ was silent.

From where he had dove to the ground General Oraka slowly tilted his head up to examine one pod that had landed just far enough away from him to avoid causing injury from its impact. He climbed to his feet along with the hundreds of other Turians who were staring warily at the twelve large canisters which had formed craters around the _Wraith's Wing._

"Get everyone back." Oraka's voice broke the silence, "You heard me! Everyone get away now! We don't know what these are! MOVE IT!" He shoved a few soldiers along as the Turians regained their senses and took flight, vacating the site around the frigate or moving inside the cargo hold for cover. General Oraka himself remained closer than most to make sure that none of his men were in danger.

One of his officers performed a scan of the nearest pod. "Sir, I can't find any indications of explosive compounds or element zero in it but...I think there's a life form inside it."

They'd just dropped...pods with humans inside them?

"Get me heavy weapons up here." Oraka ordered, "Double time! If there are humans in those pods, humans who managed to survive such a fall then I want to be ready for when they bust out-"

At that moment all twelve of the pods burst open in unison. Out of each leapt a massive form covered from head to toe in gun metal grey armour decorated with symbols of what Oraka had been told was called a 'Brotherhood of Steel' from Pridius' interrogation efforts. Six of them appeared to be fairly similar, but three others somehow looked even bigger while two more were shaped differently with multi jointed legs and shorter arms. And another was...a Death Claw wearing its own variant of the human power armour based on the shape of the form and the tail flicking around behind it as it hefted a massive weapon with three gun barrels arranged in a triangular formation.

"Spirits help us all." Oraka whispered in horror.

Xxx

They were Crusaders.

They were men and women. They were mutants. They were monsters. They were aliens.

And right now for all the Raptors cared they may as well have been gods stepping down from their divine realm to personally apply some divine wrath.

Crusader-Actual grinned beneath his helmet and hefted his Theta-Caster, a rotary cannon based on a minigun which acted as a rapid fire energy weapon for clearing out whole companies. "Crusaders! LET THEM HAVE IT!"

And then all Hell broke loose within the camp.

Xxx

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing Files...**

 **File opened: The Crusaders**

 **A team formed by the Brotherhood of Steel as one of its elite armored infantry units. It consists of twelve members, each a highly trained Paladin and a veteran of at least fifty years except for the two Prolat members among them. They are nicknamed 'The Iron Elders' by their younger counterparts but are respected both for their accomplishments under both Inquisitors Logan Mason and Arthur Maxson (and more recently Jason Maxson) in addition to how they continue to remain effective in the field thanks to a combination of cybernetic augmentation and Prolat medical ingenuity.**

 **One thing that sets them apart from the rest of the Brotherhood is that they use older models of armour predating the development of Element Zero based technology. They have upgraded their suits with modern computers for enhanced squad tactics, but have refused the use of Kinetic Barriers or mass effect fields despite the advancements made possible by adapting the mass effect to human or Prolat technology. However they have made use of Prolat technology in developing shock absorbers, built in thrusters and other devices to enhance their performance in the field. Their justification for this can be summed up in the following statement.**

" **People have continuously told us that this mass effect is more efficient, more 'practical' to use. But here is what I find myself wondering: if it is so bloody useful then what happened to the people who developed it? I for one shall stick with something made by an alien race that I can at least meet with and discuss the details of their inventions with." – Paladin Mazin, Crusader-4.**

 **Another feature setting them apart is the variety of their roster. Six of its members are humans who joined the Brotherhood while it was ruled by Logan Mason, three are Super Mutants personally recruited by Logan Mason or Arthur Maxson, one is an intelligent Death Claw and two are Prolat who were among the first to be inducted into the Brotherhood of Steel and personally trained by Jason Maxson before being inducted into the Crusaders for exemplary acts of bravery.**

 **File closed**

And here we have another chapter in only a fraction of the time that it took for the previous one to be finished. Can we expect more like this?

...

Not likely. I am unfortunately a very lazy man.

I'd like to clarify a few things that I think people might wonder about after reading this chapter-some are actually based off of questions asked by a friend who looked over it while others are based off of reviews and private messages I've received in the past.

 **1) Why did the Ghosts use those extendable blades instead of Omni Blades?**

My answer: Because Omni-Blades are a tad too bright to be used covertly in the dark.

 **2) Weren't Omni-Blades introduced around the time of Mass Effect 3?**

I kept trying to find out if the Omni-Blade (and by extension the other Omni weapons) was relatively new by the time of Mass Effect 3, but couldn't find an exact date of creation. However...you see Mordin Solus making use of an omni blade against a hammer wielding Krogan woman on a mission to Tuchanka years before Mass Effect 2-on the very mission to reintroduce the modified Genophage to prevent the Krogan from overcoming the original strain. It was also the mission that led to him losing his horn. This mission took place years before the first game, meaning that it's safe to say that Omni weapons were not made just in time for the Reaper Invasion.

 **3) Will the Institute be making a full appearance in this?**

Yes, but not immediately. I can't just throw them into the events of Shanxi, they'd be like a monkey wrench in what I already have planned. But they will play a part in this story.

 **4) Why didn't Owen and Victoria have more time to discuss the rather shocking revelation about their connection?**

Because there were bigger things to worry about and Owen knows that as an Officer he can't afford to sit around worrying about his own personal drama...that and it got him angry enough at his brother that he's able to focus more on his job now instead of the fate of his previous team.

 **5) I thought this wasn't going to be a stomp-fic!**

I'd say the Turians have had their own victories. They're slowly overtaking Shanxi, overwhelming regular Alliance forces and even adapting to the terrifying Death Claws. But Owen and his team have something called Plot Armour, allowing them to pull off their mission with minimal losses. Bear in mind that in Mass Effect 2 you singlehandedly storm a massive space station and destroy a dreadnaught sized ship with Particle energy weapons while also personally killing a Larval Reaper-and all of that is done using a single frigate sized ship and a team of twelve or so elite warriors. And in all three games you take on numerically superior enemy forces in every mission with just two allies at your side.

The Crusaders are meant to be THE best that the Brotherhood has available on Shanxi, and it's about to show in the next chapter.


	13. Chapter 12: Shanxi Insurgency Part 4

The Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

Xxx

Chapter Twelve: The Shanxi Insurgency, Part 4, How the tables turn

 **Shanxi System, Shanxi**

 **Turian Airbase** _ **Ieacalas,**_ **exterior of Turian Frigate** _ **Wraith's Wing**_

 **Approximately 1500 hours**

"LET THEM HAVE IT!"

All twelve Crusaders let loose with a flurry of blue and red energy beams, incinerating numerous Raptor soldiers and structures in the opening salvo while the rest were forced to scramble for safer cover. Some attempted to fire back only for their shots to leave minor dents in the thick armour of the Brotherhood Paladins as they began to clean the area surrounding the frigate. It was a one sided slaughter in favour of the Crusaders, who managed to massacre almost a hundred enemy soldiers by the time the Raptors had finished withdrawing.

Many of the Crusaders' victims had holes burned clean through them. Others had been reduced to piles of ash or puddles of glowing green slime.

"Enemy armour, incoming!" Crusader-8, one of the team's Super Mutants in the bulkier power armour called out.

Crusader-Actual turned as the approaching vehicles were highlighted on his HUD. "Twelve, on that armour!"

Crusader 12 turned and aimed both of his arm mounted cannons at the pair of vehicles as they slid to a stop. "With pleasure sir," The Prolat inside chuckled insidiously as his guns charged up.

Suddenly the Crusaders picked up an incoming transmission which started out as static before the panicked voice of a man broke through. " _Whoa whoa whoa hold your fire! Brotherhood of Steel, hold your fire!_ "

Crusader 12 frowned and lowered his cannons. "Who the hell?"

After a moment of silence a calmer female voice replaced the first as the hatch on one of the vehicles opened up. " _This is Inquisitor Victoria Grey, hold your fire._ " Victoria stated as she climbed out of the vehicle and walked towards the armored Crusaders. " _These vehicles are under our control, we just decided to bring them in when we saw your landing._ "

"You're with Captain Mason?" Crusader-Actual asked, keeping an eye out for any Raptors who might try using the arrival as a distraction for a counter attack.

" _No shit, Sherlock._ " Parker growled from the gunner seat of her own APC.

"What she said," Victoria replied, no longer needing her communicator to speak to them clearly. "He had us hit the fuel depot to distract the enemy while he hit this frigate."

Crusader-Actual looked at the commandeered vehicles and waved one arm. "Alright, bring those in close and park them. Put those guns on top to use." He stepped aside as the two alien APCs were moved into position on either side of the frigate. "How the hell did you manage to drive those things anyways?"

"Oh it was a lot easier with the translation matrix," Nathan answered as he appeared from the top hatch of his APC and manned the turret, "That and a lot of their tech is very similar to ours, or at least their steering controls are...and they were unlocked...and they don't seem to comprehend the idea of a car alarm in these things."

Victoria ignored the marine-something that had formed into a habit ever since meeting him, and focused on Crusader-Actual. "You were sent from New Taiyuan?"

"Yes ma'am," Crusader-Actual nodded and lowered his Theta Caster, "Sent to pull your asses out of the fire when a few hundred Raptors surrounded this frigate."

"That might be difficult," Victoria said while looking at the now sealed cargo bay. "About fifty of them just locked themselves inside."

Crusader-Actual looked to the Death Claw in the team and whistled, drawing his attention. "Ten, kindly extract Mason and his men from the enemy frigate." He gestured to two more of his men. "Three and Four, cover him."

The Death Claw nodded and slung his rotary cannon onto his back before effortlessly climbing the side of the ship, digging his claws into the side while thrusters built into his armor further propelled him up. Two of the human members of the team flew straight up into the air and latched onto the hull. Several shots from hidden Raptor sharp shooters struck them, but they shrugged the projectiles off and returned fire, laying down cover as Crusader-10 flexed one claw and sprouted a Proton blade from his gauntlet before plunging it into the ablative armour, which began to boil and stream down the hull of the ship as the Death Claw surgically cut through it.

Victoria reached for her communicator. "Captain Mason, can you hear me?"

Xxx

"Kind of a bad time!" Owen replied as he watched the sparks emanating from the sealed doors at the back of the CIC.

" _We have reinforcements, and one of them is cutting his way inside the ship on the starboard side._ " Victoria informed him. " _Can you hold out for a few more minutes?_ "

"In the time that it takes for them to cut through the three sheets of outer hull armour this room will be overrun." Zero answered in Owen's place, still connected to the ship's sensors to provide her with eyes and ears on every level and in every room. "And the cockpit has been sealed off."

"Zero, after this I am going to personally reprogram you to have a sunnier outlook on life." Owen vowed.

" _Well then,_ " Another voice rumbled, " _I guess I'd better swap my scalpel for something...stronger._ "

"...who was that?" Edward asked, sitting against the display.

" _Stand by._ "

The next few moments were spent in silence, save for the noise generated by the Raptors cutting through the doors.

"Uh...any time now?" Owen nervously asked while settling in next to Edward, using the CIC's tactical display table for cover. "Grey? Anyone?"

Zero knelt in front of them. "Twenty seconds until doors are breached." She said, "Also...get down and cover your heads."

Owen and Edward exchanged a glanced before doing as the Synth commanded. She looked over her shoulder and activated what her human companions had dubbed her 'over shield'. One second later a deafening explosion rocked the entire ship as a section of the wall on the starboard side of the room was blown inwards. Debris struck Zero's shields, shattering the outer barrier and greatly weakening the secondary shield. By the end of it all three occupants of the CIC were unharmed and found themselves staring at a massive gaping hole blown through the ship's outer armour, inner hull and the scaffolding separating both layers.

Crusader-10 leaned into view, his helmet covered head tilting. " _What are you sitting around for?_ " He demanded. " _Get out here!_ "

That snapped all three of them back into action. Zero covered the doors while Edward and Owen rushed to the opening and leapt out, easily nailing the landing thanks to their armour while Zero then followed behind. Crusader-10 looked inside to see Raptors spilling into the CIC and greeted them with both a grin and a thermal charge which he tossed in before leaping down from the ship. As he landed the Death Claw revealed a detonator in his grasp and pressed down, causing fire and smoke to burst through the opening. If the frigate was not already locked down and immobile the detonation likely would have knocked it right out of the air.

"A pleasure to meet you Mason," Crusader-Actual greeted them. "Now please tell me you got something useful out of this."

Owen glanced at Zero and received a nod from her before answering. "Oh yeah, I think we hit the goldmine."

"Good, then our job here is done." Crusader-Actual said, "Command this is Crusader-Actual, we have Mason and his team and what I am told is a shit ton of intel. Planting Transit Relay and awaiting recall."

" _Wilco, Actual. We can have you back here in the next two minutes._ " The voice of Sentinel Noland replied.

"Command with respect that is about a minute and a half too long," Crusader Actual insisted while sending a hand signal to his team.

As their leader conversed with Noland several of the Crusaders began to remove components from storage compartments in their armour. They began to attach these devices together while the rest of the team kept watch.

"Uh...what's a Transit Relay?" Campbell asked, glancing over his shoulder for a second only to spot several Raptor vehicles lumbering down the path towards them when he faced forward again. "Damn. Contact!"

"Less talking Campbell, more shooting!" Parker shouted.

Both of them began to open up with the mounted guns, unleashing a spray of projectiles while Crusader-12 charged his guns back up, now having a chance to put them to use. The armour clad Prolat fired from both cannons at once and watched as twin spheres of plasma slammed into the leading vehicle and detonated. Kinetic barriers flashed brightly, but the heat of the projectiles transferred right to the hull and began to melt through it. The Raptor driver was dead before the six wheeled vehicle veered off course and flipped over, crushing a prefab structure under its weight while the second and third screeched to a stop and began to fire their own turrets.

Crusader-12 stumbled back as a wave of projectiles slammed into his armour, having a significantly more visible effect than the Raptor small arms had and causing the armour's sensors to flash as components received damage.

He cursed and began to move behind Campbell's APC. "Boss! We might want to get out of here! Right now preferably!"

"Working on it Twelve." Crusader-Actual sighed, seemingly unaffected as more Raptor units began to roar into view and fire on the Crusaders still holding the perimeter. "Look, Command, we're kind of losing some breathing space over here and these Raptors stink like sin. Is there any way that we can speed this up?"

" _If you don't find the possibility of having your atoms scattered across this hemisphere then yes,_ " Noland replied, " _Otherwise you just need to hang on while we lock onto your relay._ "

By now the Crusaders had finished constructing a device which was fixed to the ground and extending upwards. It looked like some kind of antennae with a blue blinking light near the base.

"Relay is up." Crusader-Actual announced and hefted his Theta Caster, bringing it to bear and firing on a Raptor gunship as it flew down for a strafing run. His shots tore away the chin gun and caused smoke to trail behind the craft as it peeled off. "Enemy now has air assets on site!"

"Got eyes on two enemy air!" Crusader-3 called from above and knelt as a weapon unfolded from the back of her armour and arranged itself over her shoulder, allowing her to take aim and fire off a rocket at two more approaching gunships, one of which shot the projectile out of the air with a single burst. "Damn, gotta give them credit for good shooting."

"They utilize computer assisted targeting and navigation," Zero said while locking onto the approaching gunships, "Allow me to remedy that."

The Synth closed her eyes and used her onboard transmitter along with the captured Raptor-no...captured _Turian_ data to hack into one of the gunships with an override code taken from the frigate's archives. The pilot was treated to the experience of losing control of his craft and its guns followed by being forced to watch as his wingman was taken by surprise with a wave of heavy ammunition to the right flank before spiralling to the ground below. The hijacked gunship then began to wreak havoc on the Raptor vehicles and ground forces converging on the Crusaders.

" _Ninety seconds Crusader-Actual!_ "

"You heard him Crusaders, hold the line!"

Owen and Edward had run out of ammo by this point and were simply sticking close to Zero and Victoria while the Crusaders continued to spray energy and plasma at the oncoming alien army.

In the meantime Campbell's turret ceased firing and began to expel heat through ports along the barrel. "Aw crap." He grunted before spotting a single Turian with a large weapon set on their shoulder taking aim. "Oh for god's sake!"

The Turian fired off a rocket, and Campbell just barely managed to climb out of the gunner's seat and leap from the top of the APC before it was blown open. Crusader-12 pushed against it and fired around the back of the ruined vehicle while Campbell joined the others by the Relay.

"Jane, get out of there!" Owen shouted, watching the Ghoul fire her own turret to keep the enemy at bay.

" _Sixty seconds, Actual!_ "

"Janie!" Nathan called out but the Ghoul did not respond, too focused on laying down suppressing fire "Janie, come on!"

" _We can't let this side of the perimeter fall yet!_ " Jane replied as she succeeded in taking down the barriers of one of the Turian APCs. " _Gotta hold the line! Just a little longer!_ "

"Janie this is literally the worst time in history for you to start acting like a hero!" Nathan said as he rose to his feet to run over and drag her out of the APC only for Victoria to pull him back down. "Hey!"

"Stay down. I'll get her." Victoria said before triggering her armour's thrusters and shooting off of the ground. "Parker, if you don't get down off that gun I'm going to kick your ass and drag you back myself, kicking and screaming if I have to!"

" _Oh will you smoothskins stop being so fucking dramatic?_ " Parker demanded as Victoria landed near her APC. " _Seriously, I've survived a hell of a lot worse than a few glorified birds-_ "

Another rocket fired and hit side of the APC, lower than the one that had struck Campbell's. It caused the vehicle to flip over onto its side, sending Parker tumbling out of her seat as the APC then continued to roll over, threatening to crush the Inquisitor under its bulk.

"Oh shit, shit shit-" Parker scrambled to move out of the way only for Victoria to engage her thrusters again and slam into the APC, tilting it away from Parker.

Victoria looked down at Jane and held out one hand. "The next time I say to move your ass: move your fucking ass!" She pulled Jane to her feet.

"Uh...right, enough risks for the day." Jane decided and followed Victoria back towards the Relay.

" _Fifteen second mark! Actual, you need everybody within ten meters of the Relay!_ "

Crusader-Actual turned and waved to his team. "You heard the man! Everybody, converge on the relay! NOW!"

The whole squad began to back up, giving ground to the Turians but keeping up a wave of fire to prevent them from rushing in all at once. Within moments they had all regrouped around the relay, forming a defensive circle around the six smaller fighters. Electricity crackled around the Relay as a blue light emanated from the very top.

" _Relay transition in five, four, three, two, one!_ "

"Seriously, what the hell is this thing supposed to-" Nathan began before a blinding light enveloped the whole group, and in the blink of an eye they vanished from that spot entirely as a crack of thunder echoed across the plains.

Xxx

 **New Taiyuan, Brother of Steel Citadel**

"-do?" Nathan finished his statement as the world became replaced by a grey and barren room that was now crowded by twelve immense Crusaders who were careful not to squish any of the smaller members of Owen's strike team.

"Question answered, Sergeant." Victoria chuckled. "That was a Molecular Relay, or as laymen call it: a teleporter."

"We just...got teleported?" Owen asked slowly, not noticing a door slid open in the wall behind him.

"Indeed you were, Captain." Sentinel Noland answered, stepping into the room alongside Colonel Williams, causing those of lesser rank in the room to salute out of habit. "A little gift from the Big MT Facility that the Brotherhood has put to fine use and our Prolat friends on Mars have spent decades refining. We haven't mastered teleporting between planets as of yet but with a strong enough signal it was a simple feat to bring you back here to safety."

Owen spun around. "Colonel Williams!"

"The one and only," Ashe Williams cracked a smile and extended a hand which Owen hesitantly accepted and shook. "A pleasure to finally meet you in person Mason, from the sound of things you've been doing your father quite proud ever since this whole mess began."

"I...thank you sir, uh...but..." Owen tried to find the proper words, a task that was difficult after being in the middle of what could only be described as a kill zone mere seconds ago and then being teleported for the first time in his life. "Wait, you left the relay back there. Isn't that classified tech?"

Sentinel Noland bared his teeth in a smirk. "Oh, we certainly did but worry not...they won't have anything from just a regular old signal relay." He chuckled, "The actual teleporter is safely within our control."

Williams stepped back out of the room. "I think that'll be enough for now Sentinel. Let's let Captain Mason and his team get some well deserved rest. They just got pull straight out of Hell itself and in the process retrieved a lot of valuable information for us." He paused, "Oh and before we forget I'd like to have that data transferred to a computer if you wouldn't mind."

"Of...course sir." Owen nodded, taking off his helmet and tucking it under one arm while pointing a thumb at Zero. "Zero here can handle that for you."

Williams and Noland were obviously shocked to see the face of Alicia Shepard when Zero removed her helmet, judging by their expressions.

"You can relax," Zero sighed, "I'm just a Synth, and my designer had a particularly nasty sense of humor. Now I believe you'd like to take a look at that data, Colonel? Just point me to a computer and I can handle the rest."

"Keep an eye on her," Parker advised, "She's Manifest made."

Williams' surprised was replaced by apprehension as he stared at Zero. "Is this true, Mason?" He asked calmly.

"Yes sir," Owen nodded, "I oversaw Zero's previous personality being erased though, and added some fail safes just in case I missed anything."

"I'd assume that one of these fail safes are a micro charge planted in her cranium." Williams stated, one hand instinctively resting on the pistol holstered at his side.

"And another two located along my spine." Zero added, "I won't debate their necessity however, I still know that it's better to go overboard when dealing with a potential threat." She looked at Owen, "And if you're wondering, my on board sensors detected them the moment you reactivated me."

"Sir," Victoria stepped forward to diffuse the situation. "I agree that Zero needs to remain under surveillance, but for now I can vouch for her being cooperative every step of the way with us. Between her assistance on our mission and the technology and information gained from her regarding Manifest I think she at least deserves a chance."

Williams frowned. "Inquisitor Grey, you're asking me to take the chance that a Manifest Synth won't one day be reprogrammed to her original personality and do irreparable damage before she's put down. Anybody who went through grade school knows that Synths are vulnerable to suddenly being reset by any particular stimuli. Who's to say that one day somebody says a particular phrase or she hears a certain sound that causes this?"

"There are ways of removing these triggers," Victoria insisted, "Colonel, you don't need to grant her exclusive access to your systems and base. We just need to get the data out of her and then we could have her shipped back to Earth to be deconditioned."

"That's assuming that the alien fleet doesn't just blockade us for the next few months or years." Williams pointed out, "This invasion won't end tomorrow Inquisitor, it might not even end this year. We could be stuck in the middle of a tug of war for Shanxi or end up being occupied by a few million of those damn Raptors-"

"Turians." Zero interrupted.

Victoria grimaced and tried to quiet the Android down. "Zero, let me handle this."

"And they won't be receiving reinforcements." Zero added. "Their last request was rejected."

This caused the room to fall silent for several moments.

"...Mason," Williams broke the silence, "I want you and Synth in Meeting Room One in an hour. Noland, grab a computer not connected to the network and have it brought there. I want to verify what she just said."

Zero smiled. "Believe me Colonel when I say that you'll love to hear everything that I've learned about them."

Xxx

 **Turian airbase** _ **Ieacalas**_

 **Two hours later (1700 hours)**

"This is without a doubt a colossal failure, General Oraka." Desolas Arterius said, standing in the scorched ruins surrounding the frigate _Wraith's Wing._ "These humans pillaged a vast amount of data from the Battle Net, and spirits know if they've managed to slip anything into it."

Septimus Oraka stood with his head bowed and his hands folded in front of him. "I realized that," He bit back the next words that threatened to escape, " _Sir._ "

And if you're wondering, he meant to say that he had already realized that without needing to hear it through the condescending voice of some arrogant soft scaled brat barely half his age. He also had the desire to point out to Desolas that if he had not been so insistent on having the air base placed so close to the city, thereby stretching the invasion force thin between two bases and the city itself Oraka could have had a larger defence force-one that could have shot down the craft that had dropped those twelve... _monsters_ right on his men.

But decades of procedure remained deeply embedded in the older General. A few years ago he had outranked Desolas, but the rising star of the Hierarchy had enough pull and an impressive record that had propelled him past Oraka by just a single tier. Septimus knew that he would not be getting promoted again anytime soon with the sort of enemies he had in the Hierarchy, and Desolas was aware of this too...much to Oraka's chagrin.

"No, I don't believe that you truly comprehend the level of your blundering today." Desolas hissed, "Tactical information, dozens of contingencies that will have to be changed, code phrases that must be swapped out entirely and above all else they may even have-" He caught himself and glanced around before lowering his voice, "They may even have the record of my rejected request for additional ships and troops to fortify our position here. And with the latest updated translation software among the stolen data they might even be able to accurately read it."

Septimus was torn between dismay and satisfaction. As Desolas was the one to call for this half assed invasion he would be the one to suffer the most, but Oraka also saw a future where he and many others would either be a casualty of this war or would live long enough to be demoted, imprisoned or executed on Palaven. The only thing that would avert both of those fates would be a victory against the Alliance, and it did not take a tactician to see that the humans now might possess the means to cripple the invasion force.

"I am very much aware of how this bodes for us, General Arterius." Oraka calmly responded, "More importantly, how it bodes for _you_ above all else. The best that we can do is cut our losses at this base and push into the human city with our remaining assets. With orbital and aerial superiority we can still take the city within the week, maybe a day or two if we act wisely."

Desolas shook his head, "Oh no, we aren't going to risk waiting that long." He picked up a bent and burnt assault rifle and tossed it at the husk of one of the stolen APCs. "I'm not going to let a bunch of mutated, backwards freaks be the end of me!"

As much as it amused to see the great Desolas Arterius in the midst of a tantrum Oraka could see that this was about to take a turn most to his disliking. "What do you intend to do, sir?"

"If we cannot conquer that city...then we shall simply destroy it." Desolas hissed, "Send a message to the rest of their Alliance that nothing they have will be able to hold back the Hierarchy, intimidate them into surrendering!"

Oraka shook his head. "We have nothing that can breach that shield and you know it."

"No conventional weapons," Desolas agreed, "However...even a barrier as large as that one cannot catch a sufficiently large projectile." He slowly tilted his head up. "And we have one resting right overhead."

Septimus' mandibles twitched and his eyes widened as he realized just what Desolas was referring to. "You...you mean to-" He shook his head. "No, General Arterius that would tantamount to dropping a meteor on that city, and on a garden world no less!"

"Yet if you read the Citadel Conventions carefully such tactics are permitted on hostile worlds." Desolas retorted, storming up to Septimus. "This is happening. A rabble of mutated abominations will not turn back the Turian Hierarchy."

"Even if you do destroy this one city it could only incite further resistance if we attempt to push into their territory." Septimus argued, keeping his voice low so that the troops nearby would not hear. "Desolas, listen to me! You will be committing a war crime against a new species! This attack could at least be explained as the result of a misunderstanding but going as far as to do irreparable damage to a Garden Class world and massacre tens of thousands of Alliance personnel would never be allowed to pass. Think about your future!"

" _I'm thinking about the Galaxy's future!_ " Desolas bellowed, drawing the attention of many surrounding soldiers and causing Oraka to take a step back. "Fall in line General, or you can stand with these humans and their pet mutants while I level their city!"

Desolas turned and stormed away, leaving a shocked and horrified Septimus standing in the shadow of the crippled _Wraith's Wing_.

"Spirits," Septimus whispered, "What sort of madness has overtaken you, Desolas?"

Xxx

 **New Taiyuan, Brotherhood of Steel Citadel**

 **Meeting Room One**

"They are called the Turian Hierarchy."

Zero sat at the end of the conference table, cables running from the back of her head to a computer supplied by Sentinel Noland and the Brotherhood Scribes to download and examine the data she had taken from the Turians. Owen, Victoria and Williams sat along the length of the table. From the projector built in at the center of the metallic surface the image of a Turian male was constructed in three dimensions followed by that of a Turian female.

"Based on what I have retrieved they appear to be an extremely militant society placing emphasis on service to the state and the use of a Tier system with over twenty levels." Zero said, "They are also in possession of the largest military force in the known Galaxy, with thirty two individual fleets each made up of anywhere between four or five hundred vessels and at least one Dreadnaught...you've faced two of those so far by the way."

Colonel Williams cleared his throat. "As interesting as that is, especially the part about their fleets...I'd prefer to hear less about their society and more about what you said before."

"Ah yes," Zero rolled her eyes and replaced the image on the projector with that of a grey scaled Turian in a formal uniform. "This is General Desolas Arterius, the commanding officer of the fleet overhead and the one who authorized the invasion of Shanxi. He was able to gather numerous patrol fleets and troop garrisons together from areas close to the Tartarus System and absorbed them into his command. However he recently sent a request back to the Hierarchy asking for another Dreadnaught and the whole Turian 3rd Fleet to reinforce his position and prepare to further pushes into Alliance Space."

"And he was denied?" Owen asked.

"The response was automated, but it translates into 'you aren't getting anymore ships' along with a heavily implied 'you're in big trouble'."

Williams nodded, now in a considerably better mood with that last piece of information. "So he doesn't have any reinforcements coming at all."

"Yes, though I cannot say why they've denied him he basically received their answering machine." Zero answered, "Dreadnaughts are considered a precious military resource, and one of them just had to high tail it back home while being held together by duct tape and happy thoughts. Now imagine what would happen if the other were to suddenly meet a tragic fate."

Zero changed the image on the projector to show the Dreadnaught in question. It was a gargantuan bird of prey with more armour than any Paladin cruiser, enough fire power to tear apart a small fleet on its own and dwarfed even the Liberty class carriers. If everything about it was to be believed then this ship could take on at least two Paladins head to head, or turn the tide of a battle against a numerically superior force.

"These babies are meant to be the big guns in any conflict. Without them all these Turians have are cruisers with about half the firepower and frigates that are little good for more than anti-fighter cover."

The image expanded to include the _Chairman Benny_ station, which the Dreadnaught appeared to be in close proximity to.

"The Turian Dreadnaught, the _A'Kalez_ is always close to the _Chairman_ and is being filled with any tech that isn't bolted down. The Turians were going to shuttle it all home, but the rejected call for help has put a hamper in that plan." Zero explained, "It always sticks close to the station and has almost half the Turian fleet surrounding it at all times. The rest are out patrolling the system or guarding the relay."

"So it's right overhead...and out of our reach." Owen sighed, massaging his brow.

"Not necessarily," Sentinel Noland replied and tapped a command into his computer, focusing on the image of the _Chairman_. "They may have the station, but I'm willing to bet that means they also have the Relay we had up there."

Owen slowly turned and looked at the Super Mutant. "...you've had one on board the whole time?"

"Of course! Safely concealed within a reinforced container set to open only when the Relay is used to transport someone in or out, although with a whole fleet surrounding it we saw no sense in sending a strike team up." Noland answered, "But if they have taken it aboard their Dreadnaught then that could provide us with a way right onto their flagship."

Victoria moved around the table towards the Sentinel . "Do you have a way of checking to see if the Relay is still operational?"

Noland nodded and connected his Pip-Boy to the computer. "One moment."

The image of the _Chairman_ went from a sapphire blue tint to an emerald green one as Noland worked. Moments later the projector zoomed in on an area of the station where a golden sphere began to flash in and out of view.

Noland shook his head. "It is still aboard the station; however it has been moved to the Hangars."

"That could mean they'll be moving it on board soon." Victoria suggested. "And when they do..."

Colonel Williams couldn't fight back a grin at this sight. "...we'll have a way in."

"You may wish to know that there are several hundred prisoners aboard the Dreadnaught." Zero added, "Rescuing them and seizing or destroying the enemy Dreadnaught along with members of the Turian command staff wouldn't stop this invasion but it'd certainly slow them down and make it easier to retake the system."

"There may be an issue with storming the _A'kalez._ " Noland warned the group, "The relay was designed to allow a small number of Brotherhood soldiers aboard and only a small number through a single transition. We did not wish to risk somebody being able to use it to teleport with the purpose of taking the station. The relay can only take a small team, six to eight people at the most. And it can only be used once."

"That's a suicide mission." Williams shook his head, "Even if we sent up half or most the Crusaders they'd only be able to do so much before being overrun."

Zero smiled knowingly. "That is why we cannot rely on them for such a delicate operation. We need a team that is more...discreet." She looked at Owen, who immediately stood up and shook his head.

"No. Hell no. Not again. Two suicide missions in a week is my quota!"

Victoria crossed her arms and leaned on the table. "Oh really, Captain? The sooner we get rid of that Dreadnaught the sooner you can punch your brother in the face."

Owen shoved his chair back and made for the door. "There is only so far that that will motivate me to risk my ass, Inquisitor. I belong in the Captain's chair on a warship, not leading strike teams in covert ops."

"And yet here you are, a couple hours fresh from the op that just scored us enough data to turn this invasion around." Victoria slid between Owen and the door, barring the way. "Mason-" She caught herself and lowered her voice to a whisper. " _...Uncle,_ " she then resumed at normal volume. "You might not be Logan or Alex but you've done the impossible already. I could lead that mission myself but I bet you'd be able to pull it off without any casualties."

Owen sighed warily and looked down at his niece. "Victoria..." He turned and looked between Williams, Noland and Zero only to see the same look that Victoria had.

"...oh fuck my life." He sighed. "Fine, but until that Relay is moved to the Achilles-"

"A'Kalez." Zero corrected him.

"Whatever. Until the Relay is moved to it I'm getting some damn sleep." Owen turned back to Victoria and gestured for her to move aside, which she did with a smile. "I'll be in the officers' barracks until then."

He began to move through the door before Victoria rested a hand on his arm. Owen turned to demand what in the seven levels of Hell she could want now only to be surprised when she kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you." She said, "I know we just had to pressure you but...thank you."

Owen awkwardly shrugged. "Eh...odds are I'd have changed my mind at the last second anyways." He replied and continued, stepping out of the room. "Lord knows I wouldn't trust it to anyone else. They'd probably screw the pooch on the whole thing and doom us all."

Victoria knew that was as close as she would get to receiving a 'you're welcome' from the aging Captain, so she just watched as he left before facing the group sitting around the table again.

"Well Colonel, it looks like Captain Mason just volunteered to lead a raid into the alien flagship." Victoria said, "Now to take a leaf out of his book I'm going to get some rest while I can. I'd appreciate it if you could have the techs here work on our Night Hawk Armour and scrounge up some Theta weapons for us."

Williams stood up, followed by Noland and nodded. "Of course Inquisitor. If we're going to be placing our hopes on this one mission we may as well make sure you're sufficiently armed. Can I assume that you'll be taking your previous team?"

"Oh...I'll check with them." Victoria said and departed.

Noland nodded his approval. "This is good." He turned to Zero. "But if I may, Zero...earlier you said these Turians possess the largest fleet 'in the known galaxy'. Would care to...clarify that?"

Zero smiled innocently. "I was about to get to that earlier before the Colonel cut me off anyways. Have a seat gentlemen and I will continued to blow your minds and get my jollies watching your reactions."

Xxx

 **Ten minutes later, barracks**

"I'm in."

"Same."

"Fuck it, me too."

Victoria blinked and looked between Nathan, Edward and Jane as they sat around a table where the first two were playing Caravan. "Well...that was easier than I thought it would be."

"You had me at 'who wants to go on another suicide mission'." Nathan said as he raked in a handful of credits from Edward. "The way I see it: Mason is my good luck charm and where ever he goes big things happen. That being said there's a chance of dying but uh...it was sort of implied when I enlisted anyways."

"That's pretty much the same thing I was thinking. "Edward added as he stared longingly at the pile of credits being shoveled into a bag on Nathan's side of the table. "There are other potential bonuses. If Nathan here dies on the mission I get my credits back, if I die I don't have to lose anymore of my savings to him." He sighed and collected his cards. "Everybody wins."

Jane transferred herself to her bunk and laid back, hands folded over her stomach. "And I'm coming along because you Smoothskins wouldn't last ten minutes without me." The Ghoul rasped. "Not a few hours after we avoid death and you want to go right back into it? This is why heroes have such a short life expectancy."

"Oh I don't know about that Janie," Nathan shrugged while shuffling his cards. "Logan Mason lived a long time, didn't he? Arthur Maxson is still kicking too. Heck, Jason Maxson is in his prime and going strong. And on the topic of heroics, what were you doing in that APC back before we left the enemy camp?"

"Yeah! You were right in the middle of the enemy line of fire and started talking about how you had to hold the line there." Edward said with a grin. "And you're calling us insane?"

"Don't derail my point with your crappy Smoothskin logic, that was just a brief lapse in judgement from all that adrenaline I had going through me." Jane glared at the two. "Point being: you're all fucking _bonkers_ and I may as well tag along so I can at least collect your valuables after some Turian guns you down."

"Seriously? Who does that?" Edward shook his head.

"From what I hear your 'heroes' did that a lot back when we were all still stuck on Earth. Of if you live through all their insane adventures you can share a drink with them but get gunned down by the odd bandit or ripped apart by a Deathclaw and all you're good for is the spare ammo in your pockets or that fancy gun they never had the courage to ask you for when you were still breathing."

Victoria couldn't help but smile as she watched the trio. She chose an empty bunk and watched Nathan continue to swindle Edward's credits game after game until the Knight saw a card slip from the Sergeant's sleeve. By the time the two were running around the barracks and threats of asses being kicked were flung around the Inquisitor found herself laughing out loud. Even Jane's twisted mouth was drawn back into a grin as she listened to Nathan meekly attempt to dissuade Edward from following up on the promised beating.

It occurred to Victoria in that moment that it was this sort of interaction that she missed the most. As a child she'd only had friends among Brotherhood Squires, and as they'd grown older most of them had become too devoted to their jobs for leisure time or just acting like teenagers. And now here were two grown men running around, diving over or crawling under beds in a relentless pursuit.

She missed this sort of thing, and while at first these people had annoyed her-and on one occasion she'd been tempted to outright kill Nathan...it was just nice to forget about the war going on a few miles away.

Most ironically of all: Victoria would be the only one to get to sleep for the next few hours.

Xxx

 **Turian Staging Ground Alpha**

 **Midnight**

With the destruction of at the airbase the Hierarchy had been forced to withdraw back to the original landing zone. Aircraft were now exclusively based in orbit when they were not running recon, supporting the attack or transporting troops; scanners and drones were posted all around the encampment to prevent another infiltration and every Turian Special Forces unit was being mobilized.

Saren oversaw the preparation of his Cabal unit as a drop ship descended towards the landing pads close by. "Make sure those charges are safely contained!" He barked at one of his subordinates. "We're set to move in on the western flank of the invasion force. Our colleagues have been running into a few too many Death Claws for their tastes in that area and we've been sent to clean up a path for them."

"Lieutenant Arterius!"

Saren turned away from his team as they loaded up and saw a courier approaching at a jogging pace. "Yes?"

"New orders from General Arterius sir," The courier saluted him. "He's retasking your entire team to oversee an operation on the human space station."

"What?" Saren's mandibles twitched, "But what about-"

"A Ghost team has been diverted to take over for you on the western flank sir." The courier said. "General Arterius is insistent that you meet him up there."

Saren wanted to object, having had next to no action ever since his arrival. This mission was to be his first time on the front lines against the humans rather than intercepting their patrols or swatting their drones out of the sky.

But...orders are orders.

"Team...on board, we're moving to orbit by order of General Arterius." Saren commanded, pointing his team to the dropship. "You're dismissed, soldier."

"Thank you, sir." The courier nodded and departed as Saren climbed aboard the drop ship with the rest of his team.

Once their equipment was secured and the side hatches were sealed they were on their way, returning to the fleet surrounding the captured station hovering over the city.

The whole time Saren did not say a word, but he was thinking on what he would say to Desolas when they arrived.

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnaught** _ **A'Kalez**_

 **Command Deck**

"General with respect this is completely preposterous!" Admiral Pridius protested as he watched Desolas and his men replace the original personnel around the CIC. "I am currently engaged in operations to root out the remnants of the Alliance Fleet in this system and you're just 'comandeering' the only Dreadnaught I have available?!"

"Then you can resume that from aboard your own vessel, _Captain._ " Desolas said dismissively. "I require this one for something important."

"And Admiral Trisun appointed me to the _A'Kalez_ , which is her ship." Pridius argued as he followed Desolas around the tactical display, "I've lost eight ships to them and only managed to take out two of their frigates. They're being more careful than ever and the next time their flagship appears I will need the firepower of the _A'Kalez_ to neutralize it."

Desolas shrugged without looking at Kravos. "Well then I am sure you will find a suitable substitute. For the time being however this ship is now mine." He turned and looked Kravos in the eyes. "Am I understood, _Captain?_ "

Pridius' mandibles began to flare as his eyes narrowed and his talons clenched, but in the end he nodded and replied as calmly as he could. "Perfectly. _Sir._ "

Kravos stormed out without another word while Desolas seated himself in Trisun's chair.

"General, we're receiving a transmission from Admiral Trisun."

"Excellent!" Desolas reclined in his new seat. "Put her on."

The very irritated image of Admiral Trisun appeared before him. " _Arterius, might I ask what the hell you think you're doing on my bridge? Where is Admiral Pridius?_ "

"He is being relocated back to his own vessel," Desolas answered. "I've commandeered your vessel for an operation of great importance, Admiral. I apologize for not taking it up with you first but with no reinforcements coming anytime soon speed is now imperative. If you wish you may join me up on the human station to discuss it."

" _No need Arterius, I've already heard about your so called brilliant plan from General Oraka._ " Trisun growled. " _Your strategy violates the Citadel Conventions! De-orbiting a space station with the intent of crashing it on a garden world is forbidden for a reason!_ "

"Ah but if you read the Conventions carefully they make exceptions for _enemy_ garden worlds." Desolas countered. "And a station as large as this one will not cause long term harm to the biosphere. All I intend do is crash it down upon the humans' shield to put down what remains of their military and claim this system for the Turian Hierarchy."

Trisun shook her head. " _You will not do this, Desolas._ " She growled. " _We came here in response to a hostile attack against a patrol fleet, not to wipe out an entire city potentially filled with civilians!_ "

"Civilians and military personnel are not to be discriminated against in a war zone, Admiral!"

" _We are NOT a war!_ " Trisun bellowed. " _Not yet, not if you just stop this madness and think for a minute! You've been cold and ruthless before but this goes beyond what you did at Pheldi!_ "

"Ah yes, _Pheldi._ " Desolas' grip tightened on the arm rests of his chair, "How kind of you to remind me of that, Admiral."

" _The Hierarchy forgave you for what you did there because you put down a rebellion that threatened to spread to other worlds and managed to avoid broadcasting that blood bath to the whole galaxy._ " Trisun pointed at him. " _But if you attempt to go through with this I will have no choice but to relieve you of command of this task force and place you under arrest!_ "

That last word was like a string being snapped inside of Desolas. The entire CIC was plunged into silence as the Turian personnel turned to stare at the argument between the two highest ranking members of the task force. Desolas' hands were practically crushing the arm rests of his chair as he glared at Trisun venomously, and much to his displeasure she did not seem at all phased by it and coolly stared him down.

Finally Desolas slowly inhaled and relaxed his grip on the arm rests. "...very well Admiral," He nodded, "I can see that there will be no persuading you and I cannot afford a conflict between us to split the entire fleet down the middle. I will...hold off on my plan."

" _And I will be arriving to accept my ship back from you before we open up communications with the Alliance._ " Trisun responded. " _You've forced my hand Desolas...I may not be arresting you now but I will not tolerate this war you pursue any longer. As soon as the translation matrix is finished development and our forces are pulled out of the city I will use it to contact the Alliance and attempt to broker a ceasefire. Too many have died already._ "

She turned and looked at the rest of the CIC crew. " _As for the rest of you...get the hell out of my CIC. If my crew is not back at their stations by the time I've arrived you'll all be going out the nearest air lock._ " She threatened. " _Admiral Trisun, out._ "

Trisun vanished. Desolas stared at the empty space previously occupied by her avatar with a blank expression.

"...sir?"

Desolas tilted his head and slowly rotated it to the side to face the crewman who had spoken.

"You know we're always with you General." The junior officer said, "Every step of the way."

The hard stare softened as Desolas looked around the room. Each Turian present were loyal to him and to him alone. It was their loyalty that had earned them a place in this CIC with him as he struck the final blow against the Alliance, and it was with loyal soldier like them that he would humble and tame the collective of abominations. For a moment he had believed that they would side with Trisun to avoid the risk of punishment...

Oh how little faith he'd had in his men.

"Have our teams continue making arrangements." Desolas said, "I want enough pieces blown off that station by the time it's ready to drop so that we only take out the city. Trisun can call me a murderer and a butcher all she wants...I am a _precise_ butcher."

The General stood up out of the chair. "You all have my gratitude. More importantly you have my respect," He told them, "You are brave and loyal soldier of the Hierarchy and I will always remember this moment, as shall generations of Turians who celebrate our victory here."

Desolas saluted his men. "For the Hierarchy."

" _For the Hierarchy._ " They responded in unison.

He still had control of the _A'Kalez_ and his teams on the station would continue to act quietly, preparing charges to blow away entire sections of the structure so that when it was de-orbitted it would strike right at the heart of the city below with minimal damage beyond its intended target. If the VI simulations were accurate it would destroy the majority of the city and wipe out the remaining human military on the surface. The _A'Kalez_ was needed to provide security for the operation in the event of the human fleet attempting a kamikaze run on the station the moment they realized what was happening and to bombard the countryside surrounding the city just to be sure that none of the Alliance forces managed to escape. Just to be safe it would all be perfectly timed with an evacuation of the Turian army still encamped on the planet in case anything went amiss.

But before any of that could happen...he had to take care of a few pests, chief among them being one Admiral Varis Trisun.

Xxx

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing Files...**

 **File Opened: Molecular Teleportation Relay**

 **There are countless arguments regarding the exact source of the Teleportation technology utilized by the Brotherhood of Steel to this day. Some insist that it is based off of Prolat technology, others believe that the Institute, from which the Relay design was salvaged managed to master the secret of transporting matter on their own without the influence of aliens. The Brotherhood uses Molecular Teleportation sparingly due to the power consumption involved, usually for evacuating squads with high value information or evacuating VIPs to safety. So far they have not yet mastered teleportation between planets, with the furthest distance of teleportation achieved by 2353 being the successful transfer of one volunteer from New Washington to Armstrong City on the Earth's moon, Luna.**

 **Surprisingly there have been very few incidents of injury and absolutely no records of death associated with the Molecular Relay by the Brotherhood, likely because it had already been refined and perfected by the Institute before the designs were salvaged.**

 **File Closed**

And here we are with yet another chapter fresh from the Word document.

Now, right off the bat let's respond to some reviews

 **5 Coloured Walker – And as always I look forward to providing more. As for the point about Stealth Omni-Blades...it could be possible, but Omni-Blades are basically very precisely shaped mass effect fields and element zero tends to emit a bit of a glow from what I've seen in the game. It could happen in this story though...I'll keep it in mind.**

 **Bobebob – It would seem that everybody had great timing on that night.**

 **Guest #1 – That's the plan!**

 **OMAC001 – Thank you kindly as usual.**

 **Butters101 – I understand your concern about this dragging out, but I wanted to avoid the mistake that most writers make by having the Invasion of Shanxi basically end within a day by way of curbstomping the Turians. I'll admit that I could have skipped the whole Manifest thing and taken it a different route but I promise that the Battle for Shanxi is nearing its end.**

 **Eipok – In order: When Logan Mason became the new leader. This is obviously not consistent with Fallout 4 as it was written before the game was released and I did say that I would incorporate elements of Fallout 4 into this story.**

 **Guest #2 – Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last!**

 **Umbra. Venator – Hope this one doesn't disappoint.**

 **Mel – Well sorry friend, but as I've said before planetary invasions like this are not ended overnight...not unless it involves Necromongers but that's a completely different crossover.**

 **Ano – Alright sir, that is your choice and nobody is forcing you to read this. I apologize that it was not to your satisfaction.**

Before we go I have an announcement to make.

Now these recent reviews have pointed out that the Shanxi arc is dragging out a little too long and...well...I agree. At the time it may have seemed like a good idea in my head but the readers have spoken and I've decided to make a few changes that I believe will allow me to end the events on Shanxi within the following two to three chapters. After that it'll focus on first contact with the Council and the fallout of this whole conflict-which will only last a couple chapters at the most before we move onto the next stage of the story.

The Shanxi Insurgency Arc and the First Contact War will end by the time of chapter fourteen (fifteen at the very latest if the chapters get too long, but if all goes well it won't come to that).

Also, if you're wondering about Desolas' sudden spiral into madness, I'm going to explain that in the next chapter. I just felt that I shouldn't try to shoe horn it into the end of this one.

And on one final note...how would you like for me to post a list of significant characters that have been introduced? Most of them won't be appearing much once we get into the time surrounding the actual games but if you'd like I can post a list at the end of the next chapter.


	14. Chapter 13: Shanxi Insurgency Part 5

The Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

Xxx

Chapter Thirteen: The Shanxi Insurgency, Part 5, Breakdown

 **Shanxi System, Shanxi**

 **Turian Dreadnaught** _ **A'Kalez**_

 **Cargo Bay forward section**

 **March 15** **th** **, 2353, 0200 hours**

Desolas stood at the cargo bay entrance, watching as teams finished depositing and securing crates in place. The room ran the length of the ship and was located beneath the mass accelerator, allowing for many tons of supplies, weapons and equipment to be safely stowed in fifty meter compartments linked together like a chain. At the moment it was brightly lit and appeared to be far more open than it really was, but Desolas was aware of just how enclosing it could feel when the VIs no longer detected any life and proceeded to plunge the room into a choking, oppressive void. He knew this because he'd once had the misfortune of being in one such chamber when the VIs had suffered a malfunction, leaving him entombed until his absence had been noticed hours later.

He could still recall how each moment had been another of living death until he'd finally lost track of time entirely. Most Turians would have patiently awaited the next time that those doors groaned back open, lesser hearts may have gone insane with fear as the oxygen ticked away with the seconds. Desolas remembered his own fear gnashing at his self control during the first hour when he'd started to fear that he had been forgotten, doomed to suffocate over the course of hours or days as the ship he'd been stationed on at the time cut through the cosmos at FTL speeds and destined to be found when the mess area ran short on rations. But then in the suffocating darkness he found himself being reminded that he was an Arterius, a soldier of the greatest military in the Galaxy and that it was his responsibility to brave this situation and survive...

"These are the last of your personal effects, General."

The voice of the crew chief snapped Desolas back to reality, and he nodded. "Good. And the latest shipment from the station?"

The crew chief pointed to the side where the latest batch of equipment from the station had been stacked. "It's all right over there sir."

"Excellent, you may leave now." Desolas said and stepped towards the single rectangular crate deposited in the middle of the open floor cutting between the rows of supply containers and stowed vehicles.

Desolas waited for the footsteps of the team to fade beyond the threshold of the compartment doors before kneeling down and unlocking the box. He carefully lifted the lid as though he was handling a priceless and fragile work of art, and was even more cautious in his handling of the lone occupant of the crate.

It was a hexagonal cylinder in shape made of a black metallic alloy that tapered towards the top where the top was sealed together by six triangular metal pieces that formed a pressure sealed hatch. The corners were sharp its surface was smooth to the touch and strangely cold, so much that it still caught Desolas off guard whenever he picked it up after a few months of refraining from giving into the urge to see it. He was wearing full battle armour yet the skin of his hands felt a burning chill through his gloves as he lifted the cylinder up so that he could examine it in the light.

Months before the incident with the malfunctioning Cargo VIs Desolas had purchased this under the belief that it was a Prothean artifact, a trinket dug up from some ruins on a nameless world deep in the Skyllian Verge or pulled from the ancient wreck of a Prothean ship or station. For a while that was all that it had been...and then it had been the whisper in the darkness that reminded him, pulled him from the depths of melancholy and focused him.

From that point on it was no longer an artifact, some inanimate canister believed to contain the ashes of a Prothean hero. From that point on it became Desolas Arterius' guiding light.

It spoke to him when he set fire to the cities of Pheldi.

It spoke to him at each victory he added to his record.

And it spoke to him when he set his eyes on the corner of space occupied by this Alliance.

It even spoke to him now, whispering almost intimately to him as he cradled it like a mother would their child. In that moment Desolas felt his doubts dissolve away.

"They don't understand," He said, shaking his head. "They don't see. But they will. When they see, they will understand. When they see..."

 _ **They will see that this is for the good of the galaxy.**_

"They will see that this is for the good of the galaxy." Desolas repeated in a deadpan voice. "They will see soon."

 _ **They will see.**_

Desolas nodded. "They will see." He agreed.

 _ **They will see.**_

Far from where Desolas Arterius sat on the floor of the _A'Kalez's_ cargo hold, thousands of light years away from the Shanxi system and in the depths of space close to a region known as the Perseus Veil a dreaming god stirred. Even as it slept its tendrils reached out across time and space, using the cylinder as a beacon to focus its will through. From there it dug its way into the matter of Desolas' brain, corrupting neurons and wiggling through synapses, flooding his neural network with its toxic influence.

And as the god dreamt it whispered in its sleep.

 _ **Salvation through destruction.**_

"Salvation..." Desolas droned, setting the cylinder back down into the container, "Through destruction."

He locked the container back up and rose to his feet, turning and departing while locking the cargo hold behind him.

The dreaming god returned to its peaceful slumber, envisioning a galaxy in flames as its puppet worked to make that dream reality.

Xxx

 **New Taiyuan, Brotherhood of Steel Citadel**

 **0430 hours**

Nathan slid a fresh energy cell into the gleaming Theta rifle he'd been issued and examined the optics fixed to it. "So in short, we can expect upwards of several hundred Turian soldiers, internal defences and possibly some of these...Biotics?" He looked up from his weapon and looked at Zero, who was examining a Theta pistol.

"Affirmative," She answered and holstered the weapon before hefting a Theta Caster. "So far they've been encountered in isolated instances, primarily by the mercenary team mentioned by Colonel Williams: the Frontier Rangers."

Jane snorted while sliding a shotgun onto her back. "Give that lot points for creativity." She drawled and picked up another Theta rifle.

"According to the captured data a Biotic is an individual exposed to dust form Element Zero in utero and is born with nodules of the element in their body enabling them to generate and manipulate mass effect fields through selective firing of neurons to generate a specific effect while assisted by a cybernetic implant to enable use of these abilities." Zero explained, causing the rest of the team to turn away from their lockers and stare at her. "...they have telekinesis, are stronger, can create shields and teleport and conjure miniature singularities in addition to manipulating their own mass."

That appeared to be easier for them to understand. " _Ohhhhhhhh._ "

"Wait..." Edward said, sitting on a bench and running a diagnostic on his armour. "Dust form Eezo...why does that remind me of something?"

Victoria spoke up from her end of the locker room. "You're thinking of The New Washington Explosion of 45."

"Oh..." Edward nodded before the ramifications of that event struck home. "Oh god...all those children...the ones born with the birth defects!"

Zero grimaced. "The ones born with the Eezo nodes are the lucky ones...most who go through exposure in utero don't come off so lucky."

"The Alliance is going to have a field day with that shit." Nathan shuddered, "Poor kids..."

"Ten-hut!"

They all rounded on the door at once, standing at attention as Owen stood in the opening. He was clad in a fresh Night Hawk armor suit with the helmet held under one arm while another person was standing over his shoulder.

"At ease Shadow Team," Owen said and stepped forward, "I'd like you to meet someone who is going to be accompanying us."

"The Ranger," Zero said before the newcomer could introduce himself, "Leader of the Frontier Rangers mercenary group."

The Ranger chuckled softly. " _Well, looks like my reputation precedes me._ " He said, " _Colonel Williams has decided to lean on the side of caution and asked me to take part in your raid._ "

"He doesn't think we can do it?" Nathan asked, hands on his hips.

" _He doesn't want to take the chance that you can't do it with just six sets of hands._ " The Ranger shrugged, " _He offered me a bonus and as it happens when I retire I want a space station of my own with a front row view of a star._ "

"The fuck would you want something like that for?" Jane scratched her scalp.

" _Besides any and all power bills being a bad memory and a unique view which I would have the pleasure of bragging about?_ "

"..." Jane nodded. "Understandable."

"The Ranger is present because speed is of the essence and we need to hit three different areas at the same time." Owen explained as he stepped forward into the heart of the gathering. "I'm willing to divide us into two fire teams of three again, but three teams of two is too small for my liking."

" _And I happen to specialize at working in a team of three also._ " The Ranger added, " _I usually prefer to work alone so I can move faster, but I don't mind working with my own people, with professionals._ "

Nathan shrugged and sardonically replied. "Hey, if you and a few of your pals want to take a stroll around the enemy ship I'm sure that your charming personality and prize winning humility will be more than enough to steamroll the Turians. What's the exact plan anyways?"

"About to get to that," Owen turned and set his helmet on, "In the meantime we have to get moving now. The beacon was just transferred on board ten minutes ago and the enemy dreadnaught is still locked into the _Chairman_. I'd prefer that we get moving before anything changes."

The squad picked up their gear and followed Owen out. The corridors leading to the Molecular Relay Chamber beneath the Citadel was lined with scattered groups of Alliance and Brotherhood soldiers along with several mercenaries clad in old fashioned dusters and ranger helmets mixed with more modern armour. Some saluted them as they passed while others called out to them.

"Kick some ass!"

"Take 'em all down Mason!"

"Raptors will never see yah coming!"

Edward looked around awkwardly, his helmet hiding how red his face was turning. "Uh...did we get popular overnight? I don't remember people cheering for us when we went to get packed."

"They have heard of your accomplishments." The gravelly voice of Sentinel Noland greeted them at an intersection where the Super Mutant began to match their pace. "Certain details were skewed, but they know you fought General Mycroft and retrieved a treasure trove of vital information right from the center of an enemy camp. Already people are beginning to chant your name, Mason."

Owen frowned through his visor. "No...not my name, just my father's." He whispered, "If they want to see this as the grand return of the Lone Wanderer then they can damn well feel free. Just don't expect me to smile and wave."

"Fair enough," Noland shrugged. "We have managed to lock onto the relay and confirmed that there is sufficient space around it for your team to drop in. You're clear for immediate deployment."

The team stepped into the Relay Chamber itself. It was bare save for a raised section of floor carved in a perfect circle at the far end of the room, enclosed on three sides by machinery and overlooked by a vast array of metal and wiring. On the fourth side it was blocked off by rows of control consoles. The rest of the chamber was featureless metal that was occupied by several Brotherhood Scribes and two people dressed in armour similar to the Ranger's.

" _Meet my team: Ben and Eva._ " The Ranger gestured to the pair, " _Heavy and infiltration specialists, respectively._ "

"Great, more names to memorize." Owen said without glancing at them and stepped onto the raised section of floor. "Everybody on the platform and for god's sake keep your hands and feet inside the gigantic teleporter."

Ben glanced at the Ranger while he and Eva followed the group. " _Wow. And here I thought that you could be a real ass, Jack._ "

" _He's had a long week,_ " The Ranger shrugged as the group settled into place. " _Let's pardon the manners and focus on the prize._ "

Owen ran the squad through one final equipment check to make sure nobody would suffer any unexpected malfunction and then gave a thumb up to Sentinel Noland.

The Super Mutant nodded and began to personally type in the authentication code required to activate the Relay. "Relay transition is set. Countdown set at five seconds." He looked up and raised one thick hand in a salute that was mimicked by everyone else in the room. "...God be with you, Mason."

Rather than assuring Owen this made him question why Noland would choose such a...cheesy final farewell before Shadow Team was engulfed in a blue light. Electricity crackled throughout the room as the smell of ozone permeated the air, leaving the raised section of floor empty and clean as a plate. Noland waved one hand in front of his face and turned away with a weary sigh.

"All our hopes on nine ass holes," The Sentinel muttered, "This can't possibly get any more interesting."

As though the universe itself conspired against him in that very moment his Pip-Boy received an update directly from the front lines. Noland looked through the message as he departed the chamber and raised one confused brow at the latest enemy troop movement.

"They're...pulling out entirely." He said aloud and picked up the pace as he made for the command centre where Williams was located.

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnaught** _ **A'Kalez**_

 **Cargo Bay aft section**

 **0435 hours**

The cargo bay was pitch black and devoid of life support systems as a measure to save power for the rest of the ship. If the Turians had the option they also would have cut off gravity to the whole area, but that invited the risk of something being shaken loose during a battle unless every last container was perfectly secure. There was still enough air inside to sustain at least several life forms for a few hours in the event of a mistake such as the one suffered by Desolas Arterius himself years ago on another ship, but there was no one present to hear the crackling of electricity as one of the crates taken from the Alliance station began to rattle and glow through slots in the side.

The crate exploded outwards in a bright flash of white-blue light as electricity arched on the nearby floor and crates surrounding the Molecular Relay, which had been stowed on top of an industrial grav-plate with the other leftover crates that couldn't be fitted into large cube shaped stacks and strapped together. In the aftermath nine figures were left standing in a circle around the now burnt out relay device, their guns aimed outwards.

For a moment all was silent, and then they began to set their visors' settings to allow them to see in the darkness and took in their new surroundings.

Nathan was the first to speak. "Well damn, we really did it. And nobody lost any fingers or toes or anything, right?"

"Shut up Campbell." Victoria whispered to him, "We don't know if we're alone."

Nathan looked around the room as the group began to spread out. "...look pretty alone to me, and even then our suits' external speakers are off." He reminded the Inquisitor, "I could practice my yodelling and nobody would hear me except you guys."

"Please don't try to prove that." Edward groaned before focusing his attention on a section of wall that appeared to be covered by computers. "Hey, think I found something for you, Zero."

The android turned and followed Edward's line of vision. "Oh you Brotherhood types always give me the nicest toys to play with." She patted his shoulder and stepped up to the computer panel. "Okay...looks like power has been cut to it and probably this whole room. Makes sense, but let's see if I can't fix that without giving us away."

"The rest of you scout out this whole compartment," Owen ordered, "Teams of two, nobody wander off alone. Report back when the whole room is clear."

Zero pried the panel out while the rest of the squad spread throughout the room and checked behind or between the stacks of crates. It didn't take long to finish establishing that they were alone in the dark and they quickly returned to surround Zero as she sorted through the wiring within the metal walls.

"Okay...think I can power this one panel with my own core. Cross your fingers."

The panel lit up with a red tinted screen and a matching three dimensional hologram interface in place of a keyboard.

"Bingo."

Zero's free hand danced across the interface as different shapes and walls of text appeared on the screen.

"Okay...we're in the aft section of the cargo hold. Looks like the sensors picked up on our arrival but it looks like their AI thinks that we're a sensor glitch and is running a self diagnostic." She shook her head. "Poor thing looks about as smart as a First Gen Synth, pretty good processing power though...ah ha, there we go littla fella. I just erased us from its vision, now it's back to maintaining other ship systems and nobody will be the wiser until they see this glitch in the next automated system report tonight."

" _Can you open the doors and get us out?_ " Jack asked.

"Yes, but there are two guards waiting outside who will catch onto us pretty quickly."

Nathan slung his Theta rifle over his shoulder and reached for a weapon hanging from his thigh in a sheath. "Let me worry about them." He glanced at Owen. "Sir, they teach us how to sneak up on Yao-Guai back in Arizona. Give me one partner who's almost as good and we can take them nice and quick."

" _Count me in._ " Eva said while pulling out a knife of her own.

"Fine," Owen answered, "But no Proton blades."

"Captain, you wound me." Nathan shook his head as he and Eva moved to stand where the thick metal doors leading out of the cargo hold met. "Do we look like amateurs? I prefer an old school approach."

"Your armour's physically enhancing functions should give you enough strength to break one of their neck." Zero informed them both while working on the door controls. "I wouldn't test it though."

"Noted."

The doors began to groan open, a hiss of compressed air escaping as they parted to reveal a well lit corridor outside. Both Nathan and Eva activated their Stealth Generators and slipped through the gap once it was open enough and saw one Turian guard standing on either side of the cargo hold doors, clearly startled by Zero's handiwork. One began to place a call in.

"Command, Cargo Deck Aft, the doors just opened up and-" The Turian was silenced by Eva jamming her knife right through the material beneath his helmet while Nathan pulled his concealed blade from the sheath on his thigh and slid it across the second guard's throat from behind.

" _Repeat that Cargo Deck Aft._ " A voice emanated from the helmet of the first guard as his corpse twitched several times and then fell still. " _Cargo Deck Aft, repeat!_ "

Zero rushed out and knelt over the dead guard, placing one hand on his helmet. Nanomachinery flowed through ports in her glove and the opening in the Turian's throat section, moving a lightning speed to establish a connection with the Turian's communicator.

"Command, Cargo Deck." Zero said in a perfect imitation of the dead guard's voice. "False alarm, my partner was running a scan from the exterior console and accidentally triggered the door mechanism."

She glanced through the wide open doors into the widely lit cargo bay as the rest of the team stepped out into the corridor. Nathan and Eva dropped their cloaks and reappeared with blades dripping with blue blood. Eva held a simple combat knife while Nathan had...a whole sword, a special model favoured by the hunters of Arizona based on the ancient Greek Xiphos sword-more like a machete or a long knife.

" _Acknowledged Cargo Aft._ " The irritated operator sighed, " _Cargo Deck Aft, authentication check: Menae._ "

"Stand firm." Zero responded.

" _Authentication check acknowledged. Try not to mess around anymore, things are tense enough as is. Command out._ "

Nathan released a breath. "How did you know what the response was?"

"I pulled it from the Turian frigate." Zero answered, "I'm surprised they haven't changed it, but they might not even know that I managed to get it. Each ship has its own unique authentication challenge phrases and answers, and even if they did know that I had the pairs for every ship in their fleet do you think they'd expect someone to pop out of the cargo hold on a highly secure flagship?"

"Still pretty damn stupid of them to not change it," Parker chuckled, "I ain't complaining though."

"We're still to act as if they know we're here." Owen decided, "Zero, did you manage to pick up a layout of this tub?"

"No yet, give me a minute with a fully working and networked console and I should." Zero walked over to the cargo bay's exterior console and hit the command to shut the doors after the bodies of the guards were flung through. She then connected herself to the ship's network and began to carefully sift through streams of data, avoiding the gaze of the simplistic artificial beings who acted more as managers than controllers for different systems on the ship. Soon she managed to access the Turian Battle Net.

"Okay...found it...and I found something else you are definitely not going to like."

Owen stepped forward and stood next to Zero. "Give is to us Zero, how bad?"

"Bad." Zero disconnected from the Battle Net and turned to the squad. "They aren't stating it outright but I think I know what they're doing next. They've set charges on the _Chairman_ along with detachable thrusters. The charges are set in places that won't destroy the station but will blow off non-essential sections of its mass."

" _Why would they blow chunks off of the station but not destroy it?_ " Ben asked.

It was Jack who provided an answer. " _They're going to deorbit the Chairman._ " He said, " _It's a theoretical strategy the Alliance has talked about but never used. Turn a large enough station into a projectile and you can take out an entire city. It's also part of what made them consider the Shell as a precaution against Manifest doing something like that to a city with enough aliens and mutants in it. And this is exactly how they believed Manifest might go about it...only all the successful simulations had the Shell being at its full size and strength and with a satellite barely half as big as the Chairman being dropped on it._ "

"They're going to _drop_ the damn thing on New Taiyuan?" Edward gaped. "They're that desperate?!"

"Perhaps it is because of the fact that their General fears us knowing that he won't be receiving reinforcements." Zero proposed, "If communications out of the system weren't blacked out the Alliance would have already come roaring through the relay to our rescue."

Owen shook his head. "The reasoning doesn't change the fact that they're going to do it, but it does give us another objective. Everybody listen up! We're splitting into teams of three to hit three targets simultaneously."

He pointed to Jack first. "You: Jack, Ranger, whatever your name is. Take your pals and hit the cell block, free Elder Thompson and the rest of the prisoners and arm them. The alien weapons are pretty similar to what we work with so just slap a gun into as many hands as you can and we'll have a small army to take the ship with."

Next Owen addressed Victoria. "Inquisitor Grey, take Campbell and Parker with you to the _Chairman_. Last time anybody with a telescope looked up here they saw this ship still attached to the station, meaning the docking tubes might still be open. Get over there and either disable those charges or blow the whole damn station for all I care. Correct me if I'm wrong Grey but the Brotherhood has a contingency for detonating stations at risk of crashing on population centers."

"Yes sir. The core uses a Prolat designed energy source and can be overloaded and set to blow on a timer or with the push of a button. The explosion will be strong enough to incinerate most of the structure and anything close enough."

"Set it to a timer that sounds reasonable and we can worry about getting away from it afterwards." Owen said before signalling Zero and Edward. "Rice and Zero are with me, just like last time. We'll head for the command deck and take their CO and control of this whole ship. After Grey's team sets the _Chairman_ to blow we move the ship to a safe distance."

" _And then we explain to the Turian fleet that we're just borrowing their flagship and their highest ranking officer._ " Jack added. " _If I recall from what your android here wrote about these Turians they still won't hesitate to attack us even if we have their biggest ship and her commander hostage._ "

"Indeed, Turians have a strict set of regulations governing the capture of a Dreadnaught by a hostile force." Zero agreed, "Destruction is preferable to possession by the enemy in their eyes."

"We can worry about getting off this thing after we stop them from destroying New Taiyuan." Owen replied and walked past the team, "You have your orders and we're all on the clock now. Move it!"

Jack chuckled as the team split apart and set his radio so that only his companions could hear him. " _He really is acting a lot like his old man, isn't he Ben?_ "

" _Spitting image. Think he's anywhere near as good?_ "

" _Well he has two successful missions under his belt._ " Jack shrugged, " _Let's wait and see what he does. I certainly hope he's as good as Logan was. Things were a lot more interesting with him around._ "

Meanwhile Owen took the time to privately converse with Zero over the radio. "Tell me the truth Zero. If they drop the station on the Shell, will it hold?"

Zero looked at him, her visor masking her expression. "No sir, no it will not."

"Then we'd better hurry."

Xxx

 _ **A'Kalez**_ **Command Deck**

 **0440 hours**

"Sound a silent alert to our security teams." Desolas said as he rose out of the command chair. "We've been boarded."

"Sir?" The operator who had only moments ago conversed with the security team by the Cargo Bay's aft entrance turned and looked at the General in confusion.

"Before that security team called in you reported an electromagnetic surge from the aft-most cargo compartment, yes?" Desolas walked over, his hands folded behind him as he calmly addressed the officer. "One similar to the readings recorded at the airbase during the Alliance raid yesterday, where we discovered that these barbaric mutants somehow possess teleportation?"

"Y...yes sir."

"And more importantly we changed the authentication codes for this ship when we first moved in." Desolas said, hiding the anger that was bubbling up within. "The new response to Menae is 'Stand _vigilant_ '."

The officer realized his mistake. "Yes...sir."

"Then there we have it." Desolas smiled humorlessly, finding the incompetent to not even be worth the time needed to administer a beating or lecture. "Quietly alert our security teams, let the intruders believe that they have the element of surprise and advance the time table. I want that station down by the time they're dealt with."

The officer nodded quickly. "Yes sir, at once General!"

Desolas looked to the back of the room as his younger brother stepped into view, flanked by two members of his own Cabal unit. "Ah, just the man I need!"

Saren and his subordinates snapped to attention. "Sir!"

"Saren, little brother, you have come at a most fortuitous time." Desolas said as he clapped both hands on his younger brother's upper arms. "I have a pest problem that just came from the aft cargo bay and seems to be eluding our sensors. Kindly take your squad and go riddle them with holes and I can worry about just how they were permitted to get on board after we've finished here."

"Yes sir." Saren looked to the Turian on his right. "Teams of three, spread out to cover all vital sections and activate the sensor traps we set up."

The Cabal nodded and left with the other lower ranking Turian, leaving Saren with his brother.

"Don't you usually accompany your men, brother?" Desolas asked.

Saren nodded. "Yes but...I need to speak with you first, General." He glanced around the command deck. "This matter may require some privacy, sir."

"Of course." Desolas stepped out of the room with Saren by his side and shut the doors, leaving them alone in the central corridor outside where Saren's men were already stepping around a corner and out of view. "What do you need, brother?"

Saren looked nervous, and Desolas knew that his brother took on some of the toughest criminals and pirates that the galaxy still had to offer these days without blinking.

"I...I am worried, Desolas." Saren began, "I agree with you that these abominations, this Alliance needs to be brought to heel for the good of all...but I am worried that others may not understand and may even disregard this when they heard of what we are about to do. They do not see or consider the future as we do - as _you_ do. What if the Council condemns this act and punishes you? What if...what if you're going too far?"

Desolas, for once in many years, wanted to hit his brother. He wanted to strike him so hard that his mandibles snapped off and beat his skull in for daring to question the necessity of this! This needed to be done! The Alliance needed to be destroyed, the Hierarchy _needed_ to go to war with them and destroy this collection of freaks! They had to be destroyed for the good of the galaxy! Salvation through _**destruction-**_

Immediately Desolas shook his head and groaned, resting one hand on the side of his skull.

 _No, not Saren. Never Saren!_

"Brother?" Saren stepped forward and supported his older sibling, a look of concern on his face.

"I'm-I'm fine." Desolas tore himself away from Saren, more out of fear for his younger brother than anger. "I just...it's been a long few days is all."

He waited to make sure he had his balance and his self control back before calmly responding to Saren's earlier statement. "I understand your worries Saren, but when an action is necessary like this one cannot allow the fear of prosecution to shake their will."

Desolas stepped forward and set his hands on Saren's shoulders. "Maybe they will condemn me for this. Maybe they'll execute me themselves or try to throw me to these monsters. Maybe they will strip me of my rank and call me a monster to be feared forever by the Hierarchy, used to frighten young ones into maintaining their training for fear of my spirit haunting them...but in the face of even that I cannot stand down."

He then pulled Saren into a hug, a rarely seen gesture of affection between Turians. "I can't stand down little brother, because I have a duty to the Hierarchy to destroy or tame all threats to civilization. That is my burden to bear, and that is why if they must punish me for doing what is necessary then so be it." He released Saren.

"I will die knowing that what I do today will ensure the continuation of galactic society as we know it."

He spoke with such carefully placed words and masked the sudden rush of anger that had threatened to make him beat his own brother into a bloody mess on the floor. What Desolas did not comprehend was that these words still were not entirely his own. The presence in his mind had realized that it could not allow him to act any further out of character like it had during his conversation with General Oraka and quickly changed tactics. Luckily it had ceased its efforts just in time, allowing Desolas' own self control to take hold and calm him down-which happened quickly once Desolas realized just who he was on the verge of attacking.

It worked for the most part. Saren still seemed to worry for his brother but accepted the explanation.

"I...understand," Saren nodded, "I don't like it. Spirits, I don't know how it ever came to this but you're still right somehow."

Desolas patted Saren's shoulder. "It is only natural to be concerned or even frightened little brother. But you let me worry about what the Council will do; you are just a soldier following orders, I am the soldier who is giving them. Go and join your team and flush out these intruders, ensure that they cannot interfere."

He suddenly received an alert on his Omni-Tool and opened it up to view sensor footage of an approaching frigate.

"Speaking of interference..." He sighed, "I need to go and deal with my own problems."

Desolas stepped past Saren. "Good luck brother."

"Sir." Saren nodded and watched the General depart, taking a few moments just to breathe slowly until he was certain that his heart would not burst through his chest.

What they were about to do made even Saren question his loyalty and his brother's sanity...but what else could he do but follow orders? What could any of them do but follow orders?

It was following orders that helped to convince him that his brother was not a mad man.

Xxx

 **Turian Frigate** _ **Vigilant Watch**_ **, en route to** _ **A'Kalez**_

 **0450 hours**

The frigate serving as Admiral Varis Trisun's temporary flagship had finished ascending away from the Turian staging ground, flanked by a squad of fighters on each side as it made its climb. Within it were far fewer crew members than normal and far more heavily armed soldiers than what was usually stationed on a frigate.

Admiral Trisun was in the CIC, surrounded by the holographic images of General Oraka, Colonel Victus and Rear Admiral Pridius. She was in full combat armour like the rest of those aboard the _Vigilant_ despite their destination.

" _It won't be that easy, Varis._ " General Oraka shook his head. " _You must have seen it in him when you spoke to him, right?_ "

"Believe me Septimus, I saw it." Trisun assured her colleague, "I don't know what it is exactly but Desolas is not himself."

" _But why would he become so fixated on this?_ " Colonel Victus asked, " _I'll admit this Alliance is something to be concerned about but this behaviour goes beyond reason._ "

Trisun shrugged and accepted an assault rifle from a passing Turian soldier. "The reason doesn't concern me one bit Colonel, only getting that maniac off of my ship as quickly as possible before he can do something that will turn this into a full blown war. I have plenty of people in the fleet who I can trust but when I last checked Desolas had seen them all transferred off the _A'Kalez_ and replaced with his own people."

" _And he hasn't been in a hurry to obey your command to return the Dreadnaught to them._ " Pridius added. " _I've moved my battle group into position near the A'Kalez just to be safe. If General Arterius tries anything before you get there I'll be ready._ "

"Good." Trisun slung the rifle on her back. "If he so much as charges the main gun I want you to blow that ship out of orbit. I'd rather have it scrapped than party to his insanity."

" _Yes ma'am, understood._ "

"General Oraka can I trust you to make sure our troops are well away from the city until this mess is resolved?"

" _Affirmative. I've already begun withdrawal of our forward battalions, but we'll need time to execute a full tactical withdrawal with these Alliance troops pressing in._ " Oraka looked over his shoulder as an explosion roared in the background. " _Spirits, you'd almost think they want us to stay here._ "

"Colonel Victus."

" _Ma'am?_ "

"Status of our special forces units?"

" _All accounted for except for the Cabal unit of Saren Arterius. He was ordered up to the A'Kalez when Desolas invited himself aboard._ "

Trisun's eyes narrowed. "I might have guessed. Gentlemen, as far as I care General Arterius is a half step from going rogue. If any of his personnel so much as look at you funny I want you to take them out of the equation. I'll handle escorting him off my ship personally and maybe by some miracle we can get a handle on this situation before it escalates."

Oraka nodded. " _Good luck Varis._ " He said softly.

"Worry about yourself old man, you have the hard job." Trisun said and then cut the link to all three Turians. "Helm, ETA?"

" _We're on approach to the A'Kalez now, Admiral._ " The Helmsman answered, decelerating as he brought the _Vigilant_ close to the larger ship which was now tethered to the human station by several docking ports and grappling arms. " _Strange...it looks like they have it docked with the human station._ "

Giving Desolas' intent that was concerning but Trisun doubted that he'd willingly drop the station while a Dreadnaught was latched onto it even in his current state of mind. For now this at least meant that Desolas wouldn't be able to just de-orbit the station on the flip of a switch.

"Just set us up at an available docking port and let me handle the rest." Trisun ordered while donning a helmet. "The rest of you get ready! First squad to the docking port!"

Trisun had the frigate packed with eighty battle hardened soldiers whose loyalty she could count on. She was hoping to retake her ship without any deaths but given just how far Desolas was willing to go to wipe out a single city she was not about to take any chances. As a further precaution she wore matching armour to every one of her men who were now gathering near the airlock at the midsection of the frigate so that she could not be singled out and picked off by some ambush.

" _Lining up with starboard port five, access to primary starboard corridor on the central module,_ " The Helmsman announced over the intercom. " _Transmitting authorization codes to Docking VI, stand by._ "

After a minute of tense waiting the frigate was connected to the much larger vessel and locked into position. Trisun had occupied the airlock with nine other Turian soldiers in full combat gear, each of them a veteran of several years under her command.

" _Stand by first squad. Equalizing interior pressure with exterior atmosphere._ "

Several seconds later the door slid open.

"Go! Go! Go!" Varis barked, leading her team across the docking tube and ignoring the spectacular view of the planet below as they crossed the distance as quickly as possible.

Once they reached the opposite door they found it to be open and leading into another airlock. Only when they were all inside and the exterior door was shut did they allow themselves to react.

" _Stand by, decontamination in progress._ " A VI with a synthesized female voice announced a wave of light washed over the team, repeating this once more before the interior doors opened up. " _Welcome aboard Admiral Trisun._ "

"Spirits," Trisun sighed, knowing that her presence was now likely logged to whoever was on the bridge. "Remind me to have that damn VI reprogrammed after this."

The team spilled out into the corridor beyond.

"Ground Team-Vigilant, entry way is clear. Bring the rest over and prepare to secure the ship." Admiral Varis Trisun said through her radio as her first squad spread out and established a perimeter around the airlock entrance. "And get me a link right to the bridge. I'm going to give Desolas one last chance to get his ass off my ship before things get ugly."

"Hardly necessary Admiral, you can speak to me face to face."

Trisun and her men spun about and levelled their rifles at the lone figure of Desolas standing in the center of the primary starboard corridor. He was carrying a small arsenal but his weapons were safely stowed in their respective positions and his hands were held out to the sides to show that he was presently unarmed.

Admiral Trisun lowered her rifle and glanced at the airlock as the foot falls of the second squad came pounding down the length of the docking tube. "General Arterius, I believe I gave you instructions along the lines of vacating this Dreadnaught and standing down. Can I assume that the rest of your crew has done that?"

"I only have a skeleton crew aboard to keep things running for you, Admiral." Desolas answered, "We were waiting for you to arrive just so I could apologize to you personally for our prior encounters."

Trisun slowly set her rifle onto her back and cautiously approached her counterpart, keeping an eye out for signs of any hidden shooters or turrets. When she was satisfied that the corridor would not yield any surprises that her men couldn't spot she focused on the sole object of her frustrations.

"It'll take a lot more than an apology to keep me from kicking you off this ship and dragging you before the Primarchs, Desolas. I can't just ignore what you intended to do."

Desolas shook his head. "Oh I know that Admiral. Despite what you think of me and what I've said or done in the past I truly do hold you in high regard. You're a credit to the Turian Hierarchy, a master tactician who succeeded in defeating the Alliance fleet with only a fraction of the casualties I or anyone else would have incurred. You have well and truly earned this fine vessel."

He bowed his head. "Which is why I truly regret what has happened between us and what is to come."

For a moment Trisun believed that this truly was the great General Arterius' surrender to her...

But then she realized one fact that had completely flown by her during the conversation. She had kept her suit's external speakers off and had not identified herself upon entering the Dreadnaught. Desolas should not have heard anything she had said even if he was able to identify her based on her issuing hand signals to her squad unless he had access to her team's encrypted frequency.

This occurred to her one second too late.

Xxx

Just further down the corridor towards the aft section of the ship Owen Mason, Edward Rice and Zero were hidden in the safety of their stealth fields. They had come upon Admiral Trisun's team while making their way forward, following Zero's directions to the command deck while avoiding the more populated areas of the ship surrounding the detention area when the Admiral had boarded. At first they had thought that it was a wave of reinforcements before Zero had hacked into the boarding team's radios and heard the gist of what their leader was doing.

"Why would they be here to remove General Arterius?" Owen whispered despite his armour being air tight and sound proof.

"I don't know, but I think we're about to find out." Edward answered as the General in question appeared before the boarding team, who appeared to regard him with some level of hostility as their leader, Admiral Trisun, spoke with him.

Zero tilted her head as she listened to and recorded the conversation taking place. "It sounds like there's been a bit of a schism in the Turian command."

"Sir, I have a clear shot of the General." Edward peered through his scope. "Do I take it?"

Owen shook his head before realizing Edward wouldn't be able to see the gesture. "Negative. Hold fire; let's see how this plays out before we do anything. Zero, I trust that you're recording this."

"Every second of it."

"From the sound of things this Admiral is the ship's CO...and this General isn't very welcome on it, in fact it sounds like he's in some big trouble." Owen said before feeling the metal floor rumble beneath his feet. "What was that?"

Xxx

As the second team stepped out of the airlock Trisun heard a familiar noise: the sound of the broadside mass accelerators unleashing a barrage of death aimed right at the frigate connected to it. The deck rumbled as an explosion roared up the docking tube only to be extinguished as the tug of the vacuum tore several of Trisun's men off their feet, flinging them down the remains of the passage and out into the void while most managed to magnetically lock themselves down.

Trisun went for her sidearm as dying screams and shouts from the crew of the _Vigilant_ filled her ears. Before she could raise it Desolas got in close and gripped her wrist as she brought the gun up. His Omni-Blade formed around his free arm and drove itself up into Trisun's abdomen, driving a burning agony up through her torso as it cut through her armour and flesh with barely any resistance.

The rest of her men who hadn't been sucked out through the docking tube were under attack from assailants who appeared from thin air, dropping from the ceiling on thruster packs and falling upon her soldiers with Omni-Blades or shotguns to quickly put them down. Trisun's vision was consumed by blue as a glob of her blood splattered over the inside of her visor as Desolas twisted his blade and pulled it out, letting her collapse.

"As I said before Admiral," He said, his face now masked by his helmet, "I do regret what is to come, but I cannot allow you to interfere."

The airlock doors had already sealed before the atmosphere could be sucked out of the whole corridor, and in the brief period that it had taken the VI to recognize the loss of pressure in that section all of Trisun's surviving men had been gunned or cut down while only taking a few of Desolas' troops with them. Turian blood now stained the deck plating as well over a dozen corpses littered the corridor with a half dozen survivors standing over them.

"Well," Desolas turned away, "That's one issue taken care of."

" _Sir! Admiral Pridius' ships are moving in on us from all sides! He's threatening to open fire unless we surrender!_ " The officer left in charge of the bridge shouted through Desolas' radio link.

"Ease yourself of your fears Lieutenant. I knew that Kravos would react the moment I finished with Trisun and took certain measures to ensure he couldn't intimidate us into surrender." Desolas smirked. "We proceed as planned."

Further back down the corridor, Owen Mason and his team watched in shocked silence as they tried to understand what they had just seen.

Xxx

 **Turian Cruiser** _ **Valor**_

 **Command Deck**

"All ships are in formation around the _A'Kalez_ Admiral." Hen'ar informed Kravos.

"Lock firing solutions and await my command! He has until the count of thirty to stand down or by the Spirits we will blast that Dreadnaught out of the sky!" Kravos growled, his eyes fixed on the image of the exploding _Vigilant._

The frigate was by now a cloud of debris sailing away from the Dreadnaught. Kravos had dispatched a flight of rescue craft moments ago to search for any survivors but he was not too confident in finding more than a few. The broadside guns of the _A'Kalez_ carried twice the average firepower of even a frigate's main accelerator and the _Vigilant's_ barriers had barely fended off the first salvo before collapsing.

"Sir, elements of the fleet are pulling away from their formation and taking up position around the station...and they're locking onto us!"

"What?!"

Kravos looked at the tactical display which showed as many as four Cruisers and their escorts facing off with his own ships. The rest of the fleet was sending out confused transmissions, Captains requesting orders or demanding to know what was happening.

"Attention Turian vessels, stand down!" Kravos barked, "You are impeding General Desolas Arterius' arrest."

" _Negative Valor,_ " One of the rogue Captains replied. " _We have our orders...straight from the General._ "

"If you do not stand down now you and your crews will be held accountable for his actions and charged with treason!"

" _Says the glorified Patrol Captain who was about to follow a woman who would have surrendered right when we're on the verge of victory! We followed Desolas here to put these freaks down and we are not in the business of leaving a mission half completed. So_ Captain _Pridius stand your ships down and await orders from General Arterius or be fired upon._ "

It was clear that there would be little reasoning with these zealous worshippers.

Kravos cut the link and contacted the rest of the fleet. "This is Rear Admiral Kravos Pridius. General Desolas Arterius is in the middle of attempting to execute a deorbiting of the enemy station with the intent of destroying the city below in contradiction to the Citadel Conventions regarding warfare. He has just murdered your fellow soldiers, including Admiral Varis Trisun, and has illegally seized control of the Dreadnaught _A'Kalez_. I am ordering all ships to fall in with me and prepare for a full frontal assault on the _A'Kalez_ and any ships allying with Desolas. Failure to do so will be considered grounds for high treason against the Turian Hierarchy and the Citadel Council. Rear Admiral Pridius, out."

He settled back into his chair and took a deep breath as he watched ships move into formation with his own while others seemed to hang back as though uncertain of what to do. In a few minutes the entire Turian Fleet found itself being split down the middle as loyalties were tested and given.

"Spirits save me," Kravos whispered, "How the hell did it come to this?"

Xxx

 **BSF** _ **Chairman Benny**_

 **Docking tube**

When Victoria and her team had reached the tube connecting the enemy ship to the station they encountered several armed Turians guarding the passage. Their stealth fields had made it easy to get in close enough to take them by surprise but one of the Turians had quickly deployed a combat drone that managed to pick out and mark the three attackers for the remaining Turians. After that it had turned into a prolonged firefight as Victoria and her team, armed with superior Theta base weaponry gunned down their opposition with one or two shots per kill, usually reducing their targets to ashes.

As the final Turian fell nearly half way down the length of the docking tube Victoria lowered her rifle. "Alright, reload and advance into the station. We don't know how many are on board!"

"Uh...Victoria? Janie? Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Nathan asked, pointing out through one of the view ports in the side of the tube towards the Turian ships beginning to move closer to the station. There were dozens, but they appeared to be aiming at one another. "What are they doing?"

"Hell if I know or care right now." Jane answered as she finished loading her rifle and moved forward. "We still have an objective so let's not sit around twiddling our thumbs, Campbell!"

Victoria nodded, "Agreed. We can worry about them later. Let's focus on blowing this station."

Nathan sighed and followed after them. "Why do I have a feeling that we're missing some context here?"

Xxx

 **Alliance Carrier ASV** _ **Shady Sands**_

 **Command Deck**

"What in the devil are they doing?" Captain Deathstalker wondered aloud as he observed the images of the invading fleet, which appeared to be chaos before forming into two formations surrounding the _Chairman Benny_. "Are they...locking onto one another?"

"Affirmative Captain, we have confirmed weapon locks between the enemy ships."

Deathstalker shook his head. "This is just ridiculous! What has come over them?"

"Don't know sir...but we're receiving a transmission from the Relay."

"What? Put it up now!"

Xxx

 **Turian Cruiser** _ **Valor**_

 **Command Deck**

"Most of the fleet has rallied around our cruisers sir." Hen'ar said from her station, "The patrol fleets are receiving your message now and some are rerouting, but I don't know if they're coming to join us or assist Desolas."

Kravos shook his head. "We can't wait. Every second is another that mad man has to put his plan into action. Divide our ships into battle groups and prepare to attack! Primary objective is the absolute destruction of the _A'Kalez_ and the Alliance station..." He checked his Omni-Tool, " _Chairman Benny._ "

The ships allied with Kravos outnumbered the ones now surrounding Desolas' position, but not by a great deal. Out of the near hundred warships in the system almost forty were out running patrols or defending the relay; another twenty five were now protecting the _A'Kalez_ while the forty armed transport ships were moving out of range of the standoff, lacking anything in the way of ship to ship capabilities. There were maybe a half dozen others returning from patrol that could change the tide of what would quickly turn into a firefight between Turian ships.

"All ships are divided into three battle groups and prepared to attack."

"Launch fighters and move in!"

"Targeting solution locked in Captain!"

Kravos had been hoping that some of the crews loyal to Desolas would lose their nerve by this point, but none of the ships protecting the _A'Kalez_ appeared to be moving anytime soon. There was no more time to stall or fight off what had to be done.

"Forgive me," Kravos whispered before nodding to Hen'ar. "Open fire!"

Xxx

 _ **A'Kalez**_ **, Docking Tube**

Saren examined the fallen Turians spread around the entrance of the docking tube as well as the few that had retreated inside only to be cut down. The few bodies not turned into piles of ash had deep burns in their armour that had gone all the way through and made clean holes through the bodies.

"They have been here." His eyes narrowed.

Saren stood up and sprinted through the docking tube. "This is Lieutenant Arterius! Humans have boarded the station!"

" _Acknowledged, Saren,_ " Desolas responded. " _They must have somehow found out about the plan. I'll be over with a team soon to assist. Keep them from sabotaging anything in the meantime._ "

"Affirmative!"

Saren reached the end of the docking tube and stepped aboard the _Chairman_ , taking a rifle off of his back before he continued further.

Xxx

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing Files...**

 **File Opened: New Washington Explosion of 45 & the Biotic Emergence**

 **On December 14** **th** **of 2345 the Alliance freighter MSV** _ **Barbados**_ **was on route to land at the New Washington shipyards with a shipment of element zero transported from extrasolar mining facilities. While making its final approach the freighter experienced an engine malfunction and exploded in orbit over the New Washington region, spreading dust form Element Zero over dozens of square miles. Only the crew of the** _ **Barbados**_ **died as a direct result of the explosion, however the following year showed the true consequence of this tragedy when women who had been pregnant at the time of the explosion began to experience miscarriages or gave birth to deformed children while others showed evidence of element zero in their system.**

 **On March 15** **th** **, 2353, Android Zero discovered the existence of Biotic abilities through captured Turian data. This information led to the Alliance opening up research into Biotic implants and conducting a thorough census of all children born in New Washington who possess Eezo nodes in their bodies.** __

 **File Closed.**

And here by popular demand is a list of all the significant characters involved with this story so far. Bear in mind most of these characters won't be appearing much through the rest of the story and the narrative will become more focused on a particular Commander who we all know and love.

 **THE MAIN CHARACTERS**

 **Captain Owen Mason** , Alliance Navy, second son of The Lone Wanderer and Captain of the frigate ASV _Fawkes_.

 **Sergeant Nathan Campbell** , Alliance Marines, descended from Caesar's Legion and a member of the Alliance Marines.

 **Inquisitor Victoria Grey/Mason** , Brotherhood of Steel, the secret daughter of Alex Mason and Joanna Campbell and an Inquisitor based out of Terra Nova.

 **Knight Edward Rice** , Brotherhood of Steel, a tech-specialist.

 **Inquisitor Jane Parker** , Brotherhood of Steel, an Inquisitor with prosthetic limbs granting her enhanced strength.

 **Zero** , android (Second Generation Synth), formerly affiliated with Manifest which constructed her until Owen Mason had her personality erased, leaving her a blank slate which was motivated to assist the Alliance by a series of failsafe charges Owen had planted in her body.

 **SECONDARY CHARACTERS**

 **Paladin Grawk** , Brotherhood of Steel, Nightkin and based out of Terra Nova.

 **Colonel Ashe Williams** , Alliance Marines, head of Colonial Marine garrison on Shanxi

 **Sentinel Noland** , Brotherhood of Steel, Super Mutant and second in command of the Shanxi Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel.

 **Elder Thompson** , Brotherhood of Steel, Ghoul, Head of the Shanxi Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel.

 **Inquisitor Alex Mason** , Brotherhood of Steel, first son of The Lone Wanderer

 **President Gregory Irons** , President of the Systems Alliance

 **Captain Hannah Shepard** , second daughter of The Courier and a Captain in the Alliance Navy in command of the ASV _Einstein_.

 **Captain Deathstalker** , Alliance Navy, Head of Shanxi Defence Fleet

 **Jack Harper** , Ranger Mercenary Team, Leader

 **Eva Core** , Ranger Mercenary Team

 **Ben Hislop** , Ranger Mercenary Team

 **Joanna Shepard** , first daughter of The Courier, wife of Alex Mason and mother of Victoria Grey/Mason (DECEASED)

 **Sergeant Scott** (DECEASED)

 **Lieutenant Sutton** (DECEASED)

 **Paladin Santos** (DECEASED)

 **General Desolas Arterius** , Turian Hierarchy, Commanding Officer of the task force invading Shanxi.

 **Lieutenant Saren Arterius** , Turian Hierarchy, Cabal

 **General Septimus Oraka** , Turian Hierarchy, Second in Command of all Ground Operations.

 **Admiral Varis Trisun** , Turian Hierarchy, Commanding Naval Officer (DECEASED (?) )

 **Colonel Adrien Victus** , Turian Hierarchy, Third in Command of all Ground Operations.

 **Rear Admiral Kravos Pridius,** Turian Hierarchy, recently promoted by order of Admiral Trisun to take command of Turian Fleet elements at Shanxi.

 **General Ian Mycroft** , Manifest, Military Division Commanding Officer.

I didn't include the Crusader team because quite frankly they aren't going to play a major part in the story except to show up to be bad ass and maybe as war assets. Crusaders 1 through 6 are humans (3 and 4 are women), Crusaders 7 through 9 are Super Mutants (7 is a woman), Crusader 10 is a Death Claw and Crusaders 11 and 12 are Prolat.

And here by...well...my own personal decision is THE SUMMARY SECTION. In it I will summarize the events of this chapter in chronological order for the benefit of readers.

 **CHAPTER SUMMARY**

 **Desolas opens a container in the** _ **A'Kalez's**_ **forward cargo compartment which influences his thoughts and actions. Several hours later Owen Mason and his team, joined by Jack Harper and his Rangers, teleport aboard the** _ **A'Kalez**_ **with the intent of sabotaging it to break the Turian fleet's morale and depriving them of a vital military resources. Desolas becomes aware of their arrival and dispatches Saren and his Cabal unit to track and eliminate them.**

 **However around the same time Admiral Trisun approaches on the frigate** _ **Vigilant Watch**_ **to take back command of the** _ **A'Kalez**_ **and remove Desolas from command so that she can put an end to the Invasion of Shanxi. She arrives several minutes after Owen's team and is met by Desolas, who has the** _ **Vigilant**_ **destroyed by the** _ **Akalez's**_ **broadside guns and kills the rest of Trisun's team while fatally stabbing the Admiral through the torso with Owen, Edward and Zero witnessing his treachery.**

 **Rear Admiral Pridius reacts to this by moving his ships into position to destroy the** _ **A'Kalez**_ **if Desolas does not immediately surrender, but is stopped by ships loyal to Desolas intercepting him and creating a standoff that is viewed both by Captain Deathstalker and by Victoria, Nathan and Jane as they cross the docking tube connecting the Dreadnaught to the** _ **Chairman Benny**_ **station.**

 **While Kravos launching an assault on the** _ **A'Kalez**_ **with a little over half of the fleet present following him, Saren discovers that Victoria's team has boarded the** _ **Chairman**_ **and rushes in pursuit of them. Desolas promises to come to his aid as the chapter ends.**


	15. Chapter 14: Shanxi Insurgency Part 6

The Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

Xxx

Chapter Fourteen: The Shanxi Insurgency, Part Six, The Queen is Dead

 **Shanxi System, Shanxi**

 **Turian Dreadnaught** _ **A'Kalez**_

 **Detention Block**

 **March 15** **th** **, 2353, 0500 hours**

Elder Thompson shared a cell with nine other prisoners, among whom only one was a Super Mutant. It seemed that these aliens, these Turians, had killed most of the non basic humans aboard the station while taking it; Thompson didn't know if this was because they had put up more resistance or because the Turians had simply assumed that they were too dangerous to contain in large numbers. After the incident several days ago he had not been dragged back out for anymore interrogation sessions, nor had he seen many others being taken from their cells except for the young Psyker who had foolishly revealed his powers. His isolation from the Scribe kept him from even finding out what they were asking, and Thompson had no doubt that that was an intentional move to ensure their prisoners could not share critical information.

He had not spent his time idle, not completely. Until yesterday he had been trying to find a way to break out of the cell using every trick in the book, and his time in the Brotherhood had taught him a lot. The cell appeared to be fully impervious to any form of escape without use of a weapon, and Thompson saw how thorough they were in disarming his personnel the first time they'd thrown him in.

One of the imprisoned marines peered out through the blue barrier that served as the bars of the cell. "Where the hell are all the guards? For that matter why haven't they dragged Palladino away again?"

"Probably busy invading the damn planet for all we know." Another marine responded with a shrug to her counterpart. "Maybe they've already won."

"Nah, nah we'd probably be moved out of here and put somewhere with a whole lot more POWs." Thompson said with a wary sigh and stood up from what passed as his cot. "That or we'd be dead, but these guys seem to have a similar protocol for prisoners like we do."

"Still doesn't explain why they pulled a disappearing act." The first marine insisted before all became aware of the doors at the end of the cell block opening up followed by footsteps across the metal floor. "Well speak of the devil."

Two Turians strode into view, their rifles levelled down the corridor as they advanced with a spherical combat drone guiding them.

"What are they doing?"

"Sure seem to be tense about something."

"Hey split lips! Where's the fire?"

The Turians ignored them, one of them checking the glowing orange interface on one of his arms and shaking his head. Both of them relaxed and turned around, but as they did so the combat drone began to glow bright red and emitted a high pitched whine which appeared to set the pair back on alert. They began to raised their rifles only for one of them recoil as the roar of a shotgun filled the hallway and the Turian's barriers flashed dangerously bright; a second shot dropped the barriers and a third tore through him, flinging his body to the floor in a mess of blue liquid. The second guard had tried to fire on the source of the shots but barely got a single burst off before his gun was forced up and his neck began to split open as an invisible blade glided across his exposed throat, allowing blood to spill out before the Turian was released and collapsed to the floor.

Thompson and his fellow inmates were now staring at the second Turian's rifle as it floated in mid air, suspended by invisible hands which aimed it at the combat drone and fire two quick bursts of four shots each and shattered it into fragments of light.

The phantom wielding the alien rifle shimmered into view, first appearing like a figure made of water rippling in an absent sun's light and then appearing in what looked like Elite Ranger armour adapted to a modern combat suit.

" _Well well, for a gun that shoots grain sized pellets these things have one hell of a punch to them._ " They commented, their voice filtered beyond recognition but distinctly recognizable as a woman's as she held the rifle by her side and approached the cell. " _Would any of you be Elder Thompson?_ "

Thompson stood up and pushed through the prisoners that were pressing up against the energy field. "That'd be me."

" _Well it's your lucky day._ " The masked woman said as her partner decloaked next to her. " _We're here to get you out, but in return we need you fine boys and girls to help us out with our own mission by order of one Captain Owen Mason._ "

"Mason is on board?" Thompson asked before the energy field collapsed.

" _He's technically our CO for this mission._ " The masked male shrugged and picked up the other discarded alien rifle, which he tossed to Thompson. " _And now that we've freed you, we need you to help us take over this ship. Shouldn't be too hard seeing as it seems the usual crew is rather...well...absent. So what do you say?_ "

Thompson chuckled, "Oh you are definitely speaking my language." He stepped out and bellowed. "You heard them people! Off your asses, out of your cells and grab the nearest gun you can get your hands on! It's time for some payback!"

Other prisoners began to step out of their cells and filled the detention area.

"Where can we get some more guns?" Thompson asked the two Rangers who had freed them.

" _I believe that I can solve that issue!_ "

Standing at the opening at the end of the corridor was Jack, carrying an alien rifle in each hand which he passed to the nearest prisoners. " _There are armories scattered around the ship, each with a couple dozen rifles and half as many side arms. Ammunition shouldn't be of any issue, these things pack a few thousand rounds at the very least._ "

"Then let's get those guns into some trained hands." Thompson said as he made his way through the crowd. "Arm up and let's go to work! We have a Mason here today who's counting on us for help so let's do him proud!"

The name alone got many riled up. To work alongside a child of a legend seemed to serve as motivation for most soldiers and even support personnel who didn't belong on the front lines. People were clamouring to get a weapon and join in seizing the ship.

Thompson set a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Thanks for the assist, glad to see Rangers are still reliable these days." The Elder said with a nod, "What's the exact game plan?"

" _Help Mason to take the command deck and stop the Turians from dropping Chairman Station on New Taiyuan._ " Jack replied.

"Wait, what?!"

" _We found out after we came aboard. They're planning to turn the station into a projectile to break through what's left of the Shell and level the city. We were sent to free you while other teams focus on the whole 'saving the day' part._ "

Thompson now saw how urgent their current predicament had become and began to shout. "Double time it people! Move like you're worth something!"

Ben chuckled as he and Eva regrouped with Thompson. " _Wow, Mason's making our job a hell of a lot easier already. And here I thought you'd have to give them some rousing speech to get them moving._ "

" _Legends have a habit of stoking the courage in others._ " Jack mused, " _Even today one of them is helping us..._ " He watched as the last of the prisoners disappeared into the corridors outside. " _Who would have thought a few wasteland survivors would create such a following._ "

" _If memory serves those survivors created modern society._ " Eva reminded Jack. " _Now, are we going to stand here or get a piece of the action?_ "

" _A valid point,_ "Jack admitted and began to follow the crowd. " _Let's not miss out on this morning's excitement._ "

Xxx

 _ **A'Kalez,**_ **Starboard Primary Corridor**

 **0500 Hours**

"What the actual hell did we just see?"

Owen was staring at the scene of the massacre which had ended only a couple minutes ago. Once the last of General Arterius' men had vacated the scene Owen and his team had looked over the bodies for any signs of survivors.

"If I were to compress it down to one word I'd choose 'betrayal'." Zero responded, crouching over the body of the one identified as Admiral Trisun. "This one was clearly here to evict him from the vessel and spoke of a plan he had. And what strategy are we currently aware of that the Turians were about to execute?"

"...deorbiting the _Chairman,_ " Edward answered, the very thought still sending a chill through both of the humans present. "So this Turian was here to _stop_ that other Turian?"

"That is what I believe." Zero affirmed as she turned Trisun over. "Perhaps she can provide a more accurate answer."

Owen immediately knelt over the Turian and noted the muffled noises coming from beneath her helmet. He looked at Zero and gestured to the headgear, which the synth removed with surgical precision using a Proton Knife, revealing the bloodstained and almost elegant features of a female Turian whose eyes fluttered as she struggled to speak.

"H-human...?"

Owen activated his external speakers and spoke in as calm and clear a voice as he could muster while resting his hands on Trisun's shoulders. "Tell me what just happened. That man, General Arterius: why did he betray you?"

Trisun coughed and drew in a deep breath. "Didn't...didn't agree," She gasped, "Bringing the station down...had to...stop him-" She coughed harshly, getting droplets of blue blood on Owen's visor. "Can't allow it!"

"You were trying to stop him? But why?"

Trisun groaned. "Not...a monster." She answered, "Soldiers follow orders...good soldiers question bad orders. He's gone insane...don't know how or why but he's become obsessed...with destroying you." She reached up and gripped Owen's arm. "When I came here I thought we would only...occupy this one planet, find out what happened at...Relay 314. Didn't come for this...not for this..."

There were no prizes for deducing that the skirmish had played into the Turians' arrival.

"So you were against this plan and came to put a stop to it."

Trisun nodded. "If Desolas drops that station...it'll be war." She strained to speak before lowering her voice to a whisper, "We're supposed to end wars, not start them."

Owen couldn't disagree on that first part. If the Alliance suffered the loss of a whole city and hundreds of thousands of civilians who wouldn't be safe even in the vaults located under the city itself Parliament would move for open war...even if the Turians' total navy outnumbered their own dozens to one and had potentially tens of billions put up against the Alliance's abysmally low population. A drawn out war with the Turians had seemed inevitable and unavoidable from the moment Owen had engaged them in Tartarus, but the fact that one of their flag officers was looking to avoid such an outcome gave him some glimmer of hope.

And he could also sympathize with Trisun on the second half of her statement. Owen didn't fancy himself as overly patriotic, but from his experience even Generals were not authorized for needlessly declaring and then ensuring a state of war between two nations based solely on one skirmish and their own personal feelings...especially when their own mental health was both questionable and measurable by their actions.

Desolas Arterius was not just the man who was about to destroy New Taiyuan...he was the madman who was about to wage war on the Alliance.

"There's...still a way...to stop him," Trisun pulled Owen down towards her, putting what was left of her strength into her grip and the words that followed. "Kravos...he was there at Relay 314...I promoted him to Rear Admiral to keep the fleet in order while I operated frigate support below. I need to contact him, to contact the whole fleet. I can do that from the command deck...just one message."

Owen nodded. "Understood." He looked at Zero. "Can you keep her stabilized?"

"For a time, but her wounds are too severe and Stim-Gel is incompatible with Turian physiology due the difference in amino acids." Zero explained, "No one ever accounted for there being more than one type when it was made, even the Prolat were compatible in that area."

That left Zero with limited options to keep Trisun breathing and a new timer for Owen to go by. Taking the command deck and the entire ship was now more important than ever and the next hour could decide the long term fate of humanity and the Prolat. All of that was down to him and a few others to avert an interstellar war that could not be won.

...

Owen suddenly envied his father. All that Logan Mason had to worry about were a few nations pulling themselves out of nuclear fallout; Owen Mason had the fate of mankind on his shoulders now.

"Keep her breathing until we can take the bridge." Owen stood up, pulling free of Trisun's grip as the Turian's hands went slack and keying into the team's comm. frequency. "Jack, can you hear me?"

" _Affirmative Mason. We just finished freeing the prisoners, and you'll be glad to know that Elder Thompson is among them and just saying your name once got them all riled up. We're making our way towards the command deck now and these Turians are throwing everything they have at us to hold us back._ "

"We need to take the bridge," Owen stated.

" _I'm well aware of that._ "

"No, you aren't aware of just how important it became!" Owen insisted, "I have a dying Turian Admiral right here who has a hole cut in her, compliments of General Arterius, the head honcho of this whole invasion force. He's not acting on any authority but his own, Jack! He's gone rogue and this Admiral is probably the only one who can call off the fleet on our door step. She's fully willing to but the only thing we have keeping her breathing are happy thoughts and sheer stubbornness. So you clear that damn bridge because we're carrying her up there in a few minutes!"

Jack was silent for several moments.

" _I certainly understand now. We'll have it cleared before you arrive, Mason. Harper, out._ "

Owen looked at Zero and Edward. "Put together a stretcher! We need to get the Admiral up there! Zero, you monitor and treat her as best you can. Rice, you and I are carrying her."

Xxx

 **BSF** _ **Chairman Benny**_

 **Command Centre**

 **0505 hours**

"Clear!" Victoria called out and waved Nathan and Jane into the unoccupied room positioned in the upper portion of the station. "Get the sensors online and work on overloading the core."

"Uh..." Nathan awkwardly stood by the door. "I'll watch the door since I'm sort of...intellectually challenged for this sort of task compared to you two."

Jane snorted as she sat down in one of the empty seats. "He ain't lying Vic, let the grunt do the grunt work and sit your ass down so you can give me a hand with this."

Victoria set her rifle aside and took another seat, reactivating the primary systems and pulling up a layout of the station. "Okay...I have the sensors working and eyes on charges planted on pretty much everything but the primary section of the station."

"The way they're planted they'll knock off the public travel terminal, the peripheral research facilities and all the secondary modules that got added on after the station was set up." Jane noted, "Gotta give these Turians credit for accuracy."

"They've also got those thrusters in place." Nathan added as he pointed to the highlighted areas on the station's hull. "Perfectly positioned to keep the station on course and minimizing any chance of the areas the thrusters are fixed to snapping off in mid descent. They've turned it into the galaxy's biggest smart missile."

Both women turned and stared up at the marine.

"...what?" He glanced between them before looking back at the door.

Jane shook her head and looked over the layout. "Okay...looks like the reactor core is still sealed up. Turians probably would have tried to take that with them if it wasn't...well...explosive, chockfull of lethal levels of heat and kind of nailed down."

"Can you overload it from here?" Victoria asked.

Jane nodded and grinned. "Already putting the codes in now-aaaaaaand fuck me sideways."

"Janie I am sincerely hoping that was a legitimate offer and you are not about to give us bad news." Nathan shook his head without taking his eyes off of the door.

"In your disturbing dreams, Campbell," Jane sighed, "Seems like the Turians went through here with a fine tooth comb and cut remote command to most of the systems on the station from here. We'll have to head down to the Core Control Room itself and rig it to blow there."

"It just can't ever be that simple, can it?" Victoria stood up and snatched up her rifle. "Alright, it's probably better this way anyways. Going right to the Core itself means we won't spend a portion of our getaway time in the Galaxy's slowest elevator."

Nathan shuddered at the memory of the ride up to the highest level of the station. "What is with the elevators on this station anyways? Seriously, it took us like five minutes just to go up ten floors! I swear walking is more efficient."

Jane began to utter a response along the line of telling Nathan to stop his complaining (though with more colorful phrasing) when the doors suddenly exploded outwards. One of the metal panels slammed into Nathan, flinging him back over the console while the other collided with Jane and slammed her head right into the screen she had been working at moments ago. Victoria had managed to roll out of harm's way and brought her rifle up towards the door only for a wave of gunfire to slam into her. Before she could get a proper lock on the shooter he had already breached her barriers and several of the grain sized projectiles struck her armour with enough force to throw her aim off despite not inflicting any serious injury. Rather than risk further harm Victoria vaulted over the row of consoles and took cover as a single Turian stepped through the smoke.

At first glance she confused him for General Arterius due to the similarities he had to an image shown to them by Zero before their deployment, but Victoria quickly realized that certain features were completely wrong. Whoever this was he wasn't the Turian Commander.

The rifle spat out another trio of shots and forced Victoria down while Jane groaned and pushed herself away from the console, shifting the burnt and dented metal door piece off of her. The Turian locked onto the Ghoul and fired again before her barriers could restore themselves, tearing through the fabric of her suit where it wasn't protected by the reinforced outer armour. Jane swore and collapsed as irradiated blood leaked from the entry wounds before her onboard medical systems applied pressure to the area and injected Stim Gel.

"Jane! Stay down!" Victoria leaned out from cover and fired two shots at the Turian, who seemed to glide to the right with a single kick off of the metal floor and was far out of the line of fire by the time the orbs of blue energy were even halfway to him. It was an unfortunate advantage shared between Theta and Plasma based weapons that the projectile did not travel at the speed of light and were easily perceivable enough that anyone with the right reflexes could avoid it...

And this alien was faster than any regular human, she could see that much.

As he slid to a stop the Turian fired at her again, but his rifle was struck near its center by another Theta projectile which caused the weapon to practically explode in its owner's grasp, miraculously not costing him any fingers as he recoiled and tossed the fragments aside. Nathan smirked and adjusted his aim for a second shot at the Turian's head, but the alien's whole body suddenly became bathed in rippling blue energy as he leapt up into the air and reared one fist up overhead before bringing it down and slamming it into the floor plating.

Xxx

Saren had quickly resorted to use of his Biotics the moment he realized the humans would only need one lucky hit to end him. His next move was as risky as it was powerful, sacrificing his barriers to unleash an attack that would hopefully tilt the odds in his favour.

The moment his fist struck the floor the Biotic aura surrounding Saren exploded outwards, generating a violent shockwave which slammed the wounded human into the row of consoles again as they sparked and exploded. The other humans were flung back, one of them slamming into the forward canopy of the command center while the other was sent tumbling head over heels and crashed to the floor without another sound.

"Huh," Saren scoffed and stood up, admiring his handiwork before he opened his Omni-Tool and turned towards the door. "This is Lieutenant Arterius, I have the humans in the command centre. They're all down, one critically wounded but alive. How shall I proceed?"

" _Have they done anything to impede the plan?_ "

Saren looked over the intact screens. "Negative, it appears that you were wise to cut the remote command capabilities of this room. They were attempting to access the reactor controls." He was basing this off of his Omni-Tool's translation matrix converting the text on screen into more familiar figures.

" _Good. We might need one alive._ "

"Don't we have a few hundred on board the flagship already?" Saren asked before noticing a distant explosion just within view of the naked eye.

Curiosity drove him to access the external sensors, a task made much easier with his Omni-Tool to act as an interface. He could see that there was a battle going on around the station, but it appeared that instead of human ships there were...Turian ships firing on one another.

"B-brother?" Saren's eyes widened. "Our fleet, it's..."

" _I know Saren...the traitor Kravos Pridius has turned many of our fellow soldiers against me. We can still pull this off, but the Dreadnaught may not be a viable escape option anymore._ " Desolas explained, " _I'm boarding the station now, let me just disconnect us and I'll explain everything._ "

Xxx

Several levels down and at the end of the docking tube connecting the _Chairman Benny_ to the _A'Kalez_ , Desolas watched as his men finished sealing the airlock and received a nod from one of them before selecting an option on his Omni-Tool which transmitted a signal to the grenades left at the opposite end of the tube. All six explosives went off at once, shattering the tube and destroying the sections that locked it to the Dreadnaught, and in the process destroying the airlock's exterior door and causing the atmosphere to vent from the compartment within until a VI managed to lock the section down.

Now they were completely separated from the _A'Kalez,_ and the hundreds of humans raging through its corridors were cut off from them in turn.

"Sorry about that," Desolas addressed his brother informally, "As I was saying, the Dreadnaught is a no-go. The Alliance prisoners were freed and are presently overwhelming the personnel I left on board. We will require at least one human with knowledge of how to pilot their starships if we wish to escape."

" _There is another vessel docked with this facility?_ "

"A damaged frigate analogue in the middle of undergoing repairs, and ironically enough it appears to be one of the ships that survived the 314 Skirmish. I took the liberty of examining it and found it to be functional. The plan was to bring it along with us back to friendly space to provide a more intact specimen to examine but now it might be our only chance of getting off this station alive. Bring at least one of the humans down to the hangar bays and I'll set the charges for remote detonation."

" _Affirmative._ "

"And Saren."

" _Sir?_ "

"Make sure the one you bring has the basic knowledge required and be sure to verify their qualifications before you kill the other two."

" _Of course sir. Lieutenant Arterius, out._ "

Desolas closed his Omni-Tool and looked to the six men he'd brought aboard with him. "Head to the hangar and secure that ship," He commanded, "I will be along with the Lieutenant shortly."

"At once, General." The team departed without another word, not bothering to question why he would send them away.

Just his sort of soldiers.

Xxx

Back on the command deck, Saren turned to the prone forms of the humans and decided to begin interrogating the more heavily injured of the trio. He began to approach the still form while running a scan with his Omni-Tool to verify that they were still alive and in acceptable condition when he noticed something amiss.

There were only two humans. The wounded one slumped against the row of consoles and the one that had slammed into the forward canopy and lay on the floor.

Saren reached for his sidearm when something rolled to his feet. He looked down and immediately scrambled back as he recognized the shape of the human grenade. At the same time the one of the metal door pieces that he had blown inwards during his entrance was lifted up by an invisible force and positioned to act as a shield for the injured human just before the grenade exploded in a flash of green.

Only two things saved Saren's life in that instant. First was the fact that he had instinctively replenished his Biotic Barriers and reinforced them, focusing them ahead of him and expanding them outwards to catch and repel the ionized matter as it exploded outwards. The second was that the plasma grenade had generated its own force the moment it detonated, propelling Saren back while the plasma splashed on the reinforced barrier. Even with the green matter being held at least four feet away from him Saren could feel the sting of the heat on his hands and his exposed face. In a span of time not measurable to any organic the plasma ate through the barriers and lightly scorched the Turian before he slammed into the wall at the back of the room, landing next to the door, suffering from some burns and half melted armour components but otherwise unharmed.

The ablative ceramic plating of Saren's armour began to boil away and vaporize, sparing his hard suit the worst of the damage and saving him from almost any harm at all. He wasn't confident that he would so fortunate if taken off guard in such a way again.

The repositioned door piece was pushed over and the cloaked human shot to his feet while reaching for a weapon on their leg. Saren reached up and began to gather energy for a Biotic Push to quickly throw the human off balance and give him more time to recover, but before his neurons could fire in the desired pattern and unleash the wave of dark energy the human flicked one wrist out and the next second Saren realized that his own hand had been forced back until his knuckles met his shoulder...and both had been impaled by a knife.

Xxx

As the Turian gave a pained howl Nathan slipped one armored foot under Jane's theta rifle and kicked it up into reach of his hands. He didn't waste time bringing it up to his shoulder and fired from the hip, splashing the Turian's position with Theta energy. The rifle's one disadvantage was that it lacked an automatic fire option, limiting each shot to the amount of times he could pull the trigger until the energy cell ran dry. This gave the Turian the opportunity to avoid the first shot and clumsily throw himself through the door before Nathan could get a second shot off.

He moved to the door and glanced out into the corridor beyond, catching sight of the Turian vanishing around a corner to the right. Nathan stepped back and quickly rushed to check on his allies.

Jane was already stirring, pushing herself up before Nathan helped her to her feet while minding her injured shoulder and arm. Victoria herself managed to climb to her feet without any assistance and wordlessly handed Nathan her Stim Gel supply, clearly intending for it to be given to Jane.

Nathan quickly injected the Stim Gel into the wounded area, knowing that every bit would help to improve Jane's chances of recovery. "How bad is it?"

"Fuckin' bad." Jane grunted, "Armor diagnostic says that Raptor's shots just splintered and tore up everything in that section. And that's my one good arm too!"

Victoria kept an eye on the door this time, peering out into the hall as she listened to the Ghoul. "Shredder rounds," She looked back at Nathan. "That guy did his homework and staged this attack perfectly. Use the door and the explosion to take us off guard and weaken or take down our barriers then use shredder rounds to break through our armour."

"Wouldn't AP rounds work better?" Nathan asked as he helped to set Jane's arm in a sling.

"For heavier armour, yeah, but Night Hawk Armour is a lot lighter and relies more on barriers and being unseen."

Jane rotated her head in a way that made it clear she was rolling her eyes at this information. "Well I'm so glad that I could be the subject of an interesting find. Really feeling the honor here. Now can we please go hunt that son of a bitch down?"

"Priorities, Janie." Nathan reminded the Ghoul Inquisitor, "Gotta blow this station's reactor...then maybe we can track the guy down supposing my knife doesn't somehow make him bleed out."

Jane looked at the young man and chuckled. "Gotta admit, that was a pretty damn decent throw you pulled off, Campbell." She admitted, "They teach that in Arizona?"

"And to throw spears, axes...pretty much anything practical." Nathan shrugged. "It comes right after learning how to stick someone with all those things and before just using a gun to do it."

"If you two are done," Victoria stepped into the hall. "We need to move. That guy could have backup pouring onto the station."

"Uh..." Nathan looked at an intact screen displaying a warning symbol over a display of the station, focusing in on the docking tubes. "...somehow I doubt that, but all the same I agree: let's get moving."

Xxx

 _ **A'Kalez**_

 **Command Deck, aft of bridge**

 **0515 hours**

"She doesn't have long." Zero informed Owen and Edward as they moved through the corridors, stepping over fallen Turians, Ghouls and humans. "Minutes at best. We need to hurry!"

"What do you think we're doing?!" Owen grumbled as he sped up from a jogging pace.

They had managed to fashion a stretcher together and strapped Admiral Varis Trisun to it. While Owen carried from the front and Edward from the back Zero kept pace with them and continued to monitor Trisun's condition. After doing their best to administer aid to her injuries and stem the bleeding they had no choice but to rush her up to the command deck where they encounters freed Alliance and Brotherhood personnel mopping up the holdouts of Turians.

Up ahead they came through what appeared to be a CIC where Turian crewmen were slumped over at their stations, some of them having not had had time to go for their guns when the former prisoners stormed in. Leading the charge was a hulking Super Mutant who had pretty much taken on the Turians unarmed, absorbing numerous projectiles and recovering with his enhanced regenerative abilities while using his physical strength to pummel or throw Turians and allow his smaller comrades to advance and pick off anything he couldn't get his hands on.

"Run little bird people!" The Super Mutant cackled before swinging one arm in a back fisted move, slamming one Turian into a wall when he was too slow to dodge while the few remaining defenders fell back into the bridge and sealed the doors.

" _Someone get those opened!_ "

Owen found Jack among the prisoners crowding the corridor connecting the CIC to the cockpit. "Hey! Over here!"

Jack looked at them as they approached. " _Almost have the bridge secured, we just have an issue...more specifically eight or nine of them on the other side of that door._ " He looked at Ben as he knelt near the doors and pulled out a plasma cutter. " _We should have it open in ten minutes based on prior experience._ "

"We don't even have five at this rate!" Zero said as Edward and Owen gently lowered Trisun to the floor. "We need in there: now."

"O-Override..."

"What?" Owen knelt over Trisun, who was struggling to speak comprehensibly.

"Override...code..." She whispered a set of digits to him. "Side panel...be ready."

Owen nodded slowly and stood up. "Everybody clear this hall." He looked at Jack, "You and your team with me, we're going to clear the bridge ourselves."

" _I know your confidence is probably at an all time high Mason, but they'll have overlapping fields of fire in there._ " Jack pointed out.

Eva nodded, " _We'd be cut to pieces._ "

Owen looked at one of the fallen Turian soldiers. "Hm...indeed we would." He then looked back to Zero. "Zero, I need you to quickly remove a few Omni-Tools and show us how to use one of the functions on it. Could you do that?"

"Affirmative...what do you need?"

Xxx

On the other side of the doors the last surviving members of Desolas' skeleton crew were preparing to make their last stand.

"Hurry it up!" The highest ranking among them, a mere Sergeant, commanded. "We can't let them gain control of a whole Dreadnaught!"

The explosive specialist worked frantically to finish rigging every console in the room to overload and explode. "Almost done!"

"Sir, the mag-locks are deactivating! Somebody's using an override code far above my own!" Another Turian called out as he typed at light speed at a security terminal next to the doors. "I can't keep them out, they're coming in!"

"Get ready!"

Nine rifles were levelled at the doors.

"Don't give them any ground. They lack shields and that big monstrosity can go down if we focus our fire. I want everyone to set their rifles to shredder rounds!"

The magnetic locks finished deactivating and the doors slid open. The Turians opened fire as one, unleashing short and controlled bursts aimed right for the center of mass...only to find their shots rebounding into the floor and ceiling as four humans advanced through the door in a perfect formation, each wielding an Omni-Shield. The standard Hierarchy Omni-Shield was large enough to provide full cover to the average Turian as they knelt, but these humans were able to instead move while in a half crouched pose.

They had turned the Hierarchy's own weapons against them!

The Turians attempted to aim for their feet, but the four humans knelt and set their shields flat on the floor, ensuring that they were completely protected. Several more took advantage of this to move in behind them and fire over the shields with weapons that lobbed blue bolts of energy which tore through barriers and armour alike. Within thirty seconds five of the Turian defenders were down and the rest were scrambling back for cover.

The shield formation broke and Owen Mason leapt through, firing into the back of one fleeing Turian and planting a shot into a second who tried to fire on him. The final two were gunned down in short order by Ben and Eva.

And with that the bridge along with the entire enemy flagship was suddenly under Alliance control.

"Huh, seems like we were wise not to wait." Ben commented as he examined a panel that had been pried open. "Another minute and they would have rigged this whole place to overload."

One of the men who had been granted an Omni-Tool taken from a fallen Turian admired the arm mounted shield. "Oh man...can I keep this thing after we're done here? I just...this would make our jobs so much easier."

Owen whistled and waved through the door. "Bring the Admiral in! Hurry!"

A pair of released marines carried the dying Admiral onto the bridge.

"Chair..." Trisun raised one shaking arm and pointed at her chair. "Put me there...please..."

Zero looked to Owen, who nodded, and then untied the Admiral from the stretcher before carefully transferring her to the command chair. The process was still painful for her due to the wound in her stomach area, but the Admiral was able to compose herself and brought up a holographic display.

"Authorization: Trisun, Varis." She said, "Access code: zero-six-one-one-one-three. Authentication phrase: Live for the cause, make them die for theirs."

Owen couldn't help but feel that the bit of wisdom appealed to him.

A silhouette of a Turian in a formal robe appeared, speaking in a neutral tone of a male. " _Authentication and access code verified. Voice recognition complete. Facial recognition complete. Bio-scan complete. Authenticity confirmed. Welcome Admiral Trisun, how may I be of assistance?_ "

"Override fleet communication protocols." Trisun coughed, "I want a direct link open to every Turian ship and outpost in the system."

" _Affirmative. Please stand by...all ship VIs acknowledge communication override. Opening channel now. Audio and visual transmission available._ "

Trisun straightened up in the chair and tried not to groan in pain as she rested one hand on her blood stained front. She composed herself and stared at a hologram shaped like a circle with a blinking red light that represented the spot to look at in order for her to be seen as directly looking at the viewer. All across the system dozens of Turian vessels found a priority message being sent to them even as the two fleets brawling near the _Chairman_ prepared to go for another round.

They stopped so that the message could be acknowledged and broadcasted to every Omni-Tool and computer screen on board. The same was done down on the ground as tens of thousands of Turian soldiers received a similar hail.

"This is Admiral Varis Trisun, commanding officer of the Turian Hierarchy's 3rd Fleet." Trisun struggled to maintain a clear tone of voice. "It is my regret to inform you that-that General Desolas Arterius has betrayed and murdered soldiers of the Turian Hierarchy. He has destroyed a single vessel and murdered dozens under my command, even personally inflicting injury upon me and now Turian ships are firing upon one another as loyalties are divided. "

She sucked in a breath. "When we first heeded his call to pursue the Alliance to this system, we did so under the belief that we were acting in the best interests of Galactic civilization and responding to a hostile force. We arrived as peacekeepers to strike down what we had feared to be our generation's Rachnii horde or Krogan rebellion...but now look at us."

Xxx

General Septimus Oraka and Colonel Adrien Victus stood in the command post within the Turian staging ground, looking at an image of Admiral Trisun sitting in her seat, bloodied and dying but still speaking despite what must have been no small amount of pain coursing through her.

" _Turian soldiers slaughtering one another...dying for the glory of one man._ "

Xxx

"How? How could she be alive?!" Desolas hissed as his Omni-Tool played the recording to him while he rushed down a corridor through the human station.

" _Desolas Arterius intends to destroy the human city known as New Taiyuan, home to hundreds of thousands of innocents who are hiding in fear of us. He will do this by dropping their own station upon them. He does this because he knows there will be no help coming from the Council or the Hierarchy...he knows what I know: that we are not peacekeepers. We are warmongers._ "

Xxx

Aboard the bridge of the _Valor_ , Kravos stared at Trisun's image. He felt a mixture of relief at her survival and despair at her present condition. The entire room was silent as the crew remained fixated on her speech.

" _We told ourselves that we are the defenders of the Galaxy, the protectors of society...but what are we if we allow ourselves to be driven to such acts of barbarism? To slaughter innocents, especially where there is no practical benefit, makes us no better than the Krogan who once dropped asteroids upon populated worlds. It makes us into monsters...and we are already allowing it to tear us apart and turn us on one another._ "

Xxx

"There are some who follow Desolas out of blind devotion...but I know that others are swayed because they have been told that he will lead us to victory this day." Trisun continued, "It is not victory for us that he will lead us to...he will lead us to a brand new war...one that will be waged solely on a foundation of his own madness, one that will see countless Turians returned to their families in coffins...sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, siblings...lovers...they will have died not for their duty but for Desolas Arterius' obsession."

Xxx

Many of the crews aboard the ships defending the _Chairman_ exchanged uncertain looks.

" _There are others who follow him because they view the authority of Admiral Kravos Pridius as illegitimate on account of his field promotion. Well...allow me to at least dispel that final issue._ "

Xxx

"What are you doing?" Kravos whispered, rising to his feet. "Varis!"

Xxx

"I should have made sure that bitch was dead." Desolas growled before spotting a familiar figure down the corridor. "Saren!"

Saren looked over at Desolas and turned, revealing his bleeding shoulder and hand while a knife stained with his blood dangled in his free hand. "They...they overpowered me." He confessed, "Brother, they might still attempt to overload this station's reactor right at the source! We need to-"

"It can wait a minute." Desolas eased Saren down into a sitting position against a wall. "If we're going after them then I'll need to treat that hand of yours first."

"W-what? But there's no-"

"I don't care!" Desolas snapped but then quickly reined his anger in. "Saren...you're my little brother, and you come before anything else...even this plan. Now sit down, shut up and after I administer some medical treatment to your hand we can go and stop them together."

Saren was too stunned to respond even as Desolas went to work on his bleeding hand.

" _Kravos Pridius is an honest and loyal soldier, one who has admitted to his own faults and sought to remedy them, to repent for his own actions. It was he who first fought the Alliance, he who first advocated this attack...but only because he had truly believed that his men had been murdered in cold blood by the people we have fought against until now. When he realized that was not the case he opposed this reckless attack, helped me to find a means that would not result in total war for the Hierarchy. Because of that...I feel that he truly is ready._ "

Xxx

"What's she planning?" Victus asked.

Oraka shook his head. "The only thing left to her...and I will not envy Kravos if any of us live to return home."

" _Kravos Pridius...I invoke the Rite of Digeris. When we fought the Krogan over Digeris long ago, countless Turians fell in a desperate effort to protect the planet in what is still known as the bloodiest battle in our history. It was in that battle that mere Captains were forced to become Admirals and Generals, to take on more responsibility than they had ever been charged with before. And I must, with a heavy heart, do that to you...by the Rite of Digeris and my own authority, I: Admiral Varis Trisun hereby permanently promote Rear Admiral Kravos Pridius to the rank of full Admiral and appoint him as commanding officer of the Turian Hierarchy's 3_ _rd_ _Fleet effective immediately._ "

Xxx

Trisun coughed heavily, specks of blood appearing in her lap as she bent over in pain. She forced herself to sit up, her breathing becoming more strained.

"I know that...you will be able to guide our people out of this catastrophe." She said, hoping to assure the young man who she may have just doomed to join her as a figure of infamy and shame in the Hierarhcy's history. "Do not let...Desolas...destroy us for...his own glory..."

She managed to sit upright again. "Hail Admiral Pridius. Admiral Trisun...signing off."

The holographic display vanished as the link was cut off.

" _Is there anything else that I may assist you with, Admiral Trisun?_ "

"Unlock bridge controls...disable bio-locks on all systems." Trisun instructed the VI. "And then...log me out."

" _Affirmative, Admiral Trisun. Logging you out._ "

Owen stepped up to her side and knelt. "You really were trying to help us then." He gently grasped one of her hands. "And this is what happened for your troubles."

"A good soldier...might follow all orders...but a great soldier...knows when to question the bad ones."

Owen nodded and clasped his other hand around hers. "I may have only met you a very short time ago, Admiral, but I can sincerely tell you that you may have just changed my perspective of your people. I thought you were cold hearted and thoughtless before, but..." He chuckled humorlessly, "Maybe there is just a tiny chance for peace even after all that's happened this week."

When she didn't respond Owen looked up at her. She was staring blankly ahead, slumped in her chair and her hand dangling lifelessly in his grasp.

"Is-is she...?" Edward stepped forward.

Owen nodded and stood up, slowly setting the Admiral's hand on her lap. "She is."

"And she spent her last breaths trying to save us." Zero stated, looking back at the crowd of prisoners filling the entrance of the bridge. "...I'd suggest you all keep that in mind and act as if that's an Alliance Admiral who just died in that chair."

For several moments she received no response, and then the hiss of compressed steam escaping into open air filled the bridge followed by the sound of armour unlocking. She looked to the source and found her biggest surprise yet.

"She's right," The Ranger, Jack Harper, said as he tucked his helmet under one arm, leaving his piercing blue eyes and head of brown hair exposed. "I might not possess an abundance of affection for non-humans...but I can respect acts of bravery regardless of race." He brought his other arm up and saluted the dead Turian.

Next to him, Ben and Eva removed their own helmets and mimicked his pose, followed closely by Owen and Edward, and then Zero and Elder Thompson. Soon every person present was giving one final salute to the fallen Admiral Trisun, a final gesture of respect and gratitude.

"I barely knew the woman for twenty minutes," Owen said as they all relaxed, "But...if there are really Turians like her then I'd be more than willing to look past what they've done on Shanxi. She came up to this ship to stop a maniac from dropping a station on a city and died for trying to do the right thing...like a lot of good people."

He turned and faced the gathered soldiers. "She didn't have any requirement to do it either. She could have gone along with Desolas' plan from the beginning and even twisted facts to make it look like we left them no choice. But she didn't. The woman just gave her life to protect a planet of people she didn't know from a General who she worked with."

Owen stepped forward and they parted like the red sea to allow him to stand in their midst. The Super Mutant who had cleared the halls was actually wiping his eyes a bit now as he listened.

"Good soldiers follow orders," Owen repeated, "But great soldiers question bad orders...I'm going to remember that, and I expect all of you to do that too, because a great soldier just died saving our bacon."

He continued on through the crowd until he was clear of them. "Now all of you get to work! We still have to stop that station from going down!"

" _That might be a problem, Captain._ "

Jack had donned his helmet again and was following Owen. "I got a glimpse at a sensor screen in there and it looks like the docking tube blew. On top of that the docking arms enacted their failsafe and released this ship. We've probably been floating away without realizing it because of all the gunfire that's been going on up here."

Owen spun around, eyes wide. "...oh shit." He whispered. "Victoria and her team are still on board!"

Xxx

 **Turian Cruiser** _ **Valor**_

 **Command Deck**

 **0525 hours**

"...Admiral?"

Kravos slowly turned and acknowledged Hen'ar with a stunned look.

"Your orders...sir?" She asked hesitantly.

Slowly setting himself back down into his chair, Kravos inhaled slowly as he tried to accept what had just happened.

He had just been permanently promoted all the way to the rank of Admiral. The Rite of Digeris was an informal means of allowing officers to promote themselves or others to ranks of authority...and it was not done lightly. If you called upon it then you were risking execution or permanent demotion to the lowest tier of being a mere civilian. Trisun had just invoked it on her death bed and had left him holding the bag...he wasn't sure if he was understanding of her decision or if he wanted to curse her name and spit on her corpse already.

"C...contact..." Kravos struggled to find his voice. "...open a channel to all ships."

As soon as the link was opened Kravos took a moment to carefully think on what he would say next.

"...This is Admiral Kravos Pridius, Commanding Officer of the Turian Hierarchy's 3rd Fleet." He announced. "...I hereby order all vessels to stand down. This battle is as pointless as the invasion which Desolas has led us to commit and I will not have one more Turian die a foolish death because of it unless they are determined to die as a fool by following Arterius. I shall take full responsibility for all losses in the recent engagement, no other personnel shall be punished for the deaths we have inflicted upon ourselves this day...no one shall suffer punishment except for me."

Kravos looked around at his command crew before adding. "On that, I swear what little honor I have left to call my own." He nodded. "...Admiral Pridius, out."

...

"Sir...enemy ships are acknowledging your command." Hen'ar reported, "They are standing down and joining us in formation. The Relay Guard Flotilla is still on standby but is transmitting request for new orders."

Kravos nodded. "...as my first act as Admiral I order that General Desolas Arterius be placed under arrest for the charges of murder, treason and conspiracy to violate the Citadel Conventions." He announced, "And as the ranking officer present in this system I am ordering an immediate withdrawal of all forces from the surface of Shanxi. As soon as we have our troops safely off of the ground I can..."

The newly promoted Admiral rubbed his head. "Spirits, what can I possibly do next?" He whispered to himself. "...I suppose I can't do any worse after the hole we've been dug into."

Before anyone could comment Hen'ar's screen lit up with a new alert.

"Sir, the Relay Guard Flotilla just signalled us again...they're under attack! They have identified them as Alliance ships and-" Hen'ar paused. "They're...gone sir, the entire flotilla has just gone dark."

...

"...Why do I even bother?" Kravos shook his head. "All ships regroup! Form up on my cruiser! I want eyes on the relay! Get me a drone in that area now!"

After all of this was done he would either be dead or live long enough to be remembered as an embarrassing excuse of an Admiral...either way Kravos would still do his damn best to get as many of his people home as possible.

 _Admiral Trisun is dead. Hail Admiral Pridius...for however long he lasts._

Xxx

 **BSF** _ **Chairman Benny**_

 **Reactor Sector, Outer Ring Crossing**

The _Chairman's_ reactor core was surrounded by two 'Rings'. The Outer Ring was essentially an impervious shell shaped in a large circle and designed to help contain radiation leaks and had sensor rooms to help observe the reactor in safety for any signs of a malfunction. The Inner Ring was at the center of this shell, a smaller circle at the heart of the first which contained the actual Reactor and a single control room that was usually manned by Ghouls or Super Mutants for obvious reasons.

To cross from the Outer Ring to the Inner Ring one had to go through the Crossing. It was the interior of the Outer Ring, a vast open space with metal walls, floors and ceilings and only four bridges to connect both Rings. These bridges were positioned at ninety degree angles from one another, and each could be used to access the Theta energy reactor. They were wide and tall tubes of metal suspended several feet over the floor of the Crossing, and could be sealed off or flooded with the radiation that permeated the vast chamber.

Unless you were a Ghoul or a Super Mutant these bridges were the only safe way to cross to the Inner Ring. The level of radiation was otherwise too lethal for any suit of power armour or hazmat attire to protect the wearer for more than a few seconds.

Desolas and Saren approached from the bridge facing closest to magnetic north, moving at a jogging pace so that they did not expend too much energy before they actually reached the reactor itself. Along the way they found barricades designed to slip up out of the floor, likely intended as a defensive measure to keep anyone from forcing their way into the reactor by force. Upon nearing the end they found themselves confronted by a single reinforced door barring the way to the Inner Ring...

And two humans standing in front of it, clad in black Night Hawk armour and aiming matching Theta rifles at the brothers.

"...Of course, why would I ever expect it to be that easy?" Desolas sighed.

Xxx

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing Files...**

 **File Opened: Rite of Digeris**

 **During the Krogan Rebellions, Digeris was the site of the bloodiest battle in the conflict. During the Krogan attempt to invader the planet under the leadership of the Warlord Graken Dhal, the Hierarchy's navy found itself unable to fight at full capacity due to the Krogan fleet positioning itself so that the Turians risked bombarding the planet itself while the Krogan Dreadnaughts were able to fire freely. The battle lasted many months and claimed the lives of millions of soldiers on both sides both on the ground, in the sky and across the entire system as two grand armadas and countless patrols and picket fleets engaged one another and whole armies fought for control of the capital city of Apparitus. The Krogan succeeded numerous times in eliminating key Turian leaders, who had to be replaced by lower ranking subordinates in order to prevent the Hierarchy's forces from falling into chaos.**

 **Eventually it was a young Turian Sergeant (promoted to the rank of Colonel) who landed the decisive blow against the Krogan by killing Graken Dhal during what would have been the final push needed for the Krogan to conquer Apparitus. With Dhal dead many of his subordinates fought one another for control and the Krogan forces were routed by the Turians.**

 **The Rite of Digeris was created in honor of that battle. It enables officers to promote themselves or others to a higher rank in the face of a crisis. Just as when one promotes a subordinate in regular circumstances, the use of this Rite reflects heavily on the officer invoking it if their subordinate fares poorly. It is usually only used as a last resort to ensure that a Turian force will always have a commanding officer of suitable rank even if engaged against an enemy force over a long period of time.**

 **File Closed**

 **CHAPTER SUMMARY**

 **The chapter opens with Jack Harper and his team of Rangers freeing Elder Thompson and the other hundreds of prisoners held aboard the Turian flagship, the** _ **A'Kalez**_ **, and arming them in preparation to seize the ship. Meanwhile Owen and his team discover that Admiral Varis Trisun has survived Desolas Arterius' attempt on her life and she manages to convince them that she can help if they get her to the bridge. They do so while the freed prisoners clear a way there, and Owen is able to have Zero quickly teach several volunteers in how to use Omni-Tools in order to create a Phalanx Formation of Omni-Shields so they could clear the bridge much quicker. Once Trisun is in her chair she is able to contact every Turian ship and base in the system and issues a speech denouncing Desolas' actions while invoking an ancient tradition dating back to the Krogan Rebellions: The Rite of Digeris, which enables her to permanently promote Kravos Pridius to her position as the CO of the 3** **rd** **Fleet, granting him all of her authority. Afterwards she shares some words with Owen before dying, and Owen states his admiration for her despite having only known her for a very brief period of time.**

 **In response to this Kravos issues a command to the fleet to stand down which is accepted by every ship in the system. Just moments later however the ships guarding the relay signal that they are under attack by an Alliance Fleet.**

 **Meanwhile, on the** _ **Chairman Benny**_ **Victoria's team reaches the Command Center where they discover that in order to trigger an overload of the station's core they will have to go directly to the reactor control room. Before they can get moving they are attacked by Saren Arterius, who manages to critically injure Jane before being driven off by Nathan. Victoria's team takes off for the reactor while Saren is found by Desolas (who boarded the station earlier and disconnected it from the** _ **A'Kalez**_ **) in the midst of Trisun's speech, and the latter treats his injuries despite the visible risk of his plan being foiled. By the time they arrive at the Reactor Control Room they are confronted by Victoria and Nathan.**

Okay, now there's something I'd like to discuss about...the Reapers. Now, for this story I intend to keep a few things the same but change other things. For one the Reapers will have been created by the Leviathans, but their purpose will be EXTREMELY different from what it was in canon. I want to take them back to the days when they were mysterious, lovecraftian and almost supernatural terrors of the cosmos. To that end the Fallout Universe gives me more room to work outside of the more grounded laws of the Mass Effect Universe, hence why I'm going to get extremely creative with my portrayal of the Reapers to ensure that they are what every story needs...

A nigh unstoppable force that cannot be reasoned with, neither good nor evil but simply so above everything else that we are considered less than a speck of dust in their view.

Also, in case anyone is worried: I've already started working on the next chapter and based on what I have I can confidently tell you that it will be the LAST of the Shanxi Insurgency Arc. I could have tried to squeeze it into this chapter but then we'd be looking at around forty pages of content...and I know how chapters like that can just drag on forever. As I said a couple chapters ago I'd try to end the Arc on this chapter if I could but if it got too long I'd try to end it in one more.


	16. Chapter 15: Shanxi Insurgency Part 7

The Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

Also...a bit of an author's note: Now that I've gotten back to work on this story I've looked back and thought 'Oh sweet mother of Deathclaw Christ what the hell was I thinking?' in response to numerous mistakes I made. I intend to avoid repeating them once this arc is over so that they don't drag out like this one has. I kept on going back on this one and erasing whole pages-once I even erased half the chapter because some parts would be rushed, others would be too long...I really beat myself up over a lot of choices. But now after months of forcing you all to wait (and you are all saints for being patient, by the way) here is the final version of this chapter.

There were numerous factors that kept me from finishing this, key among them being schoolwork and an overall sense of 'I hate this/that/etc'. Another has been an original story that I've been working on and finished just under a hundred pages for so far. However I've hit a bit of writer's block on it and decided to come back to this for a bit. I still found myself struggling to get this story back into gear with the corner I wrote myself into, so I've decided that in the interest of getting you all something new just to let you know that this story isn't dead I'm posting this chapter as it is at about 24 pages and finishing the Shanxi Insurgency Arc in the next chapter.

Xxx

Chapter Fifteen: The Shanxi Insurgency, Part 7, The Step Before The Fall

 **Shanxi System**

 **Turian Dreadnaught** _ **A'Kalez**_

 **Command Deck**

 **0531 hours**

"Captain, the remaining Turians onboard have surrendered themselves to our custody." Zero informed Owen from where she was seated at the ship's helm, interfacing directly with the systems. "Also, I have full control over secondary manoeuvring capabilities and defensive armaments. The main accelerator and primary navigation controls appear to be reinforced with redundant firewalls to prevent unauthorized access."

"How long will it take to get control?" Owen asked, gazing at the tactical display as he watched the images of the Turian fleet depart from the _Chairman Benny's_ proximity.

"Several minutes. Until then I've diverted power to the barriers...although if the Turian communications are accurate then we may not need the main gun or the engines."

Owen tore his eyes away from the display. "What?"

"An Alliance Fleet has just arrived, sir."

Every Alliance and Brotherhood member on the bridge began to let out cheers at this news, perhaps the first bit of fortune that they'd had in days. Owen on the other hand remained cool headed and raised one hand to signal for silence before replying, "How many ships?"

"Unknown as of this moment sir, the sensor data is several minutes old. I can't even read the IFFs on this thing so I don't know which fleet or what types of ships, all I can say is that they're registering as hostile contacts on this screen and are originating from the Shanxi-Theta Relay. That leaves room for only one likely explanation, Captain."

The Alliance had finally come to Shanxi's aid. Owen should have been relieved to hear this, but he would not allow himself to relax until the _Chairman Benny_ was no longer poised to crash down on New Taiyuan.

"We still have a job to do here, people." Owen instinctively made a move towards the commanding officer's chair only to pause and cringe as he remembered that it as still occupied by the corpse of Admiral Trisun. He stared at the gruesome sight for only half a second before resuming, "We need to be ready to assist Inquisitor Grey if or when she needs it. Either we find a way onto that station or we blow it out of orbit."

Zero turned in her seat. "A sound move sir, but I do not know if it will make a great amount of difference. If the station comes down in a million pieces it may still cause significant damage and loss of life within New Taiyuan...but not as much as having it crash down almost completely intact. Before we can do that however Inquisitor Grey's team will need an escape route, and with all of the station's shuttles and escape pods jettisoned there is only one way off for them."

"What is it?"

"Your ship, the _Fawkes._ "

At that instant Owen made a promise that he would kiss the _Fawkes_ the next time he saw it, regardless of how dented and burnt it was. That the frigate was still somehow in mostly one piece after all of this was nothing short of miraculous.

"The _Fawkes_ can practically fly herself; a two man crew will be enough to get her in the air as long as they aren't looking to do anything too complex with her." He stated, confident in the abilities of Victoria, Nathan and Jane. "They shouldn't have any problems."

"Except for the life signs of eight Turians currently aboard the station," Zero added, turning back towards the helm's display. "Six of whom are already on board the _Fawkes._

Owen cursed and turned to the display again. "Is there anything we can do from here?"

Elder Thompson sighed and shook his head. "'Fraid not, Mason. Unless you feel like risking an EVA walk we can't get over there."

"Captain, the Alliance ships are closing on the Turian fleet!"

Xxx

 **Alliance Carrier ASV** _ **Einstein**_

 **Command Deck**

 **0532 Hours**

"Commander Shepard, sensors are now fully back online and drone pickets are being recalled."

Hannah Shepard, the second child of Alicia and Benny, nodded and stepped towards the front of the bridge, her hands folded behind her as she watched squadrons of fighters form up around the _Einstein_ in escort formation. The Carrier was in a formation with one of its sister ships and behind a pair of cruisers and a quartet of frigates flying as escort. Further ahead of the battle group were dozens of warships now making the push at sublight speeds towards Shanxi. The invasion fleet that had besieged the planet could not yet be seen with the naked eye, and Shanxi itself was still little more than a blue dot at the present distance.

"Very good, maintain formation and tell the deck crews to prepare to have plenty of incoming damaged birds." Hannah said as she turned and walked back to her chair.

"Commander, new orders from the _Olympian_. We're to expect a group of ships led by the cruiser _Sharon of Rose,_ she'll have the surviving ships from the Shanxi Defence Fleet with her."

Hannah frowned at the mention of the _Olympian,_ which was actually still in view. It was a beast of a ship, larger than even the _Einstein_ and any of her sister ships-which until today she had thought were humanity's largest warships. All she could see right now was the back, mainly the blue flare of its engines as it propelled itself forward at the head of the fleet. It had come along with a dozen other ships, just flying right up to the blockade at the relay linking the Shanxi system to the rest of Alliance space.

Eight frigates, four cruisers and the _Olympian_ itself.

They bore resemblances to the standard Alliance designs, but were less blocky than the standard models. They were smoother, more angular, less clumsy in their design, the product of years of testing and improvements over the current models. Prior to crossing the Shanxi Theta Relay she'd had no idea what they were fully capable of save that they were supposedly a 'special task force' that Admirals Davis and Drescher had been forced to wait on before making any moves. It had arrived just in time to satisfy Drescher (who had been on the verge of charging through the relay with the whole fleet) and had used some new communications system which transmitted through the mass relay itself, greatly shortening the time before it was picked up by Captain Deathstalker.

The Deathclaw had shared a wealth of information that had been transmitted to him from Shanxi. He had given them a name for their enemy: the Turians. In addition he had provided them with an adequate mode of translation for their language and the fact that they were not being reinforced.

The best part of it all had been when Drescher and Davis were informed that the Turians appeared to be firing on one another. They decided to wait until Deathstalker had confirmed the destruction of enough of the alien fleet to significantly weaken the Turian naval presence before finally charging through in full force.

The moment that the Alliance fleet had entered Shanxi they were confronted by fifteen Turian ships, a rear guard for the relay. Based on the previous engagements the strategists had expected to at least take two or three casualties, but the _Olympian_ and her escorts had charged ahead of the rest at speeds previously unheard of by anything except for Zeta Class Motherships-one of which actually was accompanying the fleet.

The Turians had opened fire quickly, reacting faster than most Alliance crews would have in a pinch like that. Their first salvo had struck home, but their targets held strong and retaliated with devastating effect.

Blue energy beams had lanced out from the cruisers, instantly cutting through the armour of three of the enemy frigates and moderately damaging one of their own cruisers, boiling away layers of ablative armour that still managed to hold up to several direct hits before the inner hull was exposed and left as easy pickings. Hannah had thought that the new ships were equipped with Theta energy weapons, but the _Einstein's_ scanners insisted that it was instead some refined form of laser weaponry, stronger than average but just enough that even point defence lasers could contribute to systematically carving the Turian ships open. Missiles had also been fired, travelling at speeds that made fighter pilots envious or nervous and left the enemy point defence systems scrambling to shoot down every single projectile. Almost a third of the first wave made it through and took out another four Turian ships, detonating in blossoming explosions of plasma right against the enemy hull and making it easy to cut through the weakened areas with laser barrages.

The frigates finally moved in close and strafed the Turian ships with broadside weapons, targeting AIs focusing on weakened points where armour had been partially burnt away from the inner hull and causing eruptions as oxygen escaped, dragging crewmen with it. Afterwards the cruisers made a similar pass, their own broadside cannons possessing a greater punch that tore through the Turian ships at this range, shattering frigates and badly damaging the cruisers. When the _Olympian_ followed them there wouldn't be a single Turian ship remaining.

It was over in less than two minutes after the fleet had cleared the relay. All fifteen Turian ships were destroyed and the _Olympian_ battle group had only suffered minor to moderate damage on its cruisers while two of the frigates were now out of the fight completely but could be salvaged after some time in dry dock. In spite of the Turians' ability to quickly react to the threat and even bloodying the nose of their attackers they were outgunned and taken completely by surprise. This stunning victory allowed the Alliance to push on through with soaring morale as the rest of the Turian fleet scrambled to regroup.

Hannah couldn't deny that these new ships were effective, but she still didn't like the fact that they apparently weren't officially Alliance or BoS in origin. They were unknowns, but she had orders to let them call the shots and she wasn't in the habit of arguing.

"Fine, we'll keep an eye out for them." Hannah replied and sat down. "But until they show up we keep focused on the big picture and worry about the enemy fleet."

Several moments passed before the sensor officer spoke. "Ma'am, the enemy fleet has entered sensor range. Numbers stand at approximately sixty functional ships with others either dead in the water or limping away."

The Turians had practically done the Alliance's job for them...which was why Hannah felt that something was terribly wrong with this whole mess. There was a practically unscathed enemy flagship right next to the _Chairman Benny_ , and the fact that it was briefly readjusting its position with manoeuvring thrusters to keep close to the structure showed that it was still functioning fine.

So then why would the Turians withhold something that valuable? One shot from it was twice as strong as anything the Turian cruisers could fire; it could probably turn the battle in their favour with a few well placed shots and even damage the _Olympian_ if it got a few good hits in, and it would even have the advantage of having the planet to its back so that the Alliance Fleet's gunners would be forced to take careful aim to avoid damage to the surface.

Why did everything about this situation scream FUBAR no matter how she looked at it?

"ETA to Alliance Fleet entering effective firing range: three minutes. ETA to Alliance fleet entering projected hostile effective firing range: five minutes."

The battle wasn't expected to take too long, but it would still be an eternity for Hannah. Each second was another that Owen, her oldest childhood friend, was on a planet with an invading army pounding at the gates. He could already be dead for all she knew, but Hannah tried not to cling to such thoughts.

"What do you think made them fire on one another?" One officer whispered to a Ghoul seated next to him.

"Don't know and don't give a rat's ass. They came, they saw, they shot up our shit and now we're about to return the favour." The Ghoul replied nonchalantly. "They're about to learn that payback is one hell of a bitch."

Xxx

 **BFS** _ **Chairman Benny**_

 **Reactor Sector, Outer Ring Crossing**

 **March 15** **th** **, 0530 hours**

"General Desolas Arterius, I presume?" Victoria asked, peering down the sights of her Theta rifle at the pair of grey scaled Turians standing less than fifty feet from her and Nathan.

"You presume correctly. Judging by your armour you would be part of the team that utterly humiliated my colleague General Oraka." Desolas replied, resting one hand over his still folded up heavy pistol.

Nathan nodded, "Yes, we would be."

"Before we take this conversation one step further, I'd just to ask something." Victoria stated calmly. "...Are you god damn _cross wired?!_ "

To his credit Desolas did not appear startled or affronted by the outburst as Saren did-if anything he appeared to be amused by it. "I wonder what would provide that idea."

"I'm just going out on a limb here but I think the answer is upwards of ten million tons and we're standing right inside it." Nathan provided, "Crashing a station into a city? Don't you Turians have certain conventions that mark that as a big no-no?"

"Or as completely ludicrous, amoral, maybe even a crime against sentient life?" Victoria added.

Desolas shrugged. "Those are conventions that can be contravened in the event of a threat to galactic peace. And I've been staring one such threat in the face for several days now."

"Hold the phone! We're a threat? Us? You're joking, right?" Nathan questioned, keeping his eyes on Saren. "I don't suppose you've noticed but you've kind of been kicking our asses one inch at a time across the board even after that hit on your airbase."

Desolas exhaled in exasperation. "I'm not surprised that you don't realize what I'm referring to. Younger races never do consider the future as we do." He turned and casually walked to the side of the corridor, stopping at a viewport that showed the vast radiation filled chamber separating the core from the rest of the station. "This is an impressive station your people have built. Enough power to provide for most of a planet, defences that would have torn apart half of my fleet if I had not acted quickly to neutralize it and wonders the likes of which I've never before seen..." He frowned and turned his head towards the pair guarding the security door. "And terrors the likes of which I cannot allow to exist unrestrained as you so foolishly have."

By the end of the Turian's speech Nathan found himself switching his helmet speakers off and whispering through the radio to Victoria. "Feel free to skip the monologue and enlighten us, Mr Mechanist." (1)

Victoria stifled a giggle at the reference, attempting to maintain her focus on the present situation. "What makes us a threat?" She asked once she knew she could speak with a serious tone of voice again, "If what we know about you is true you're part of a massive galactic community and hold all the cards in terms of military might. How could we possibly be a threat to something that big on our own?"

"Maybe not now, but as I said very few primitives like you ever consider the future." Desolas answered, "Tell me...why did you not put all of those freaks you call Ghouls and Super Mutants out of their misery the first chance you had? Why did you give machines sentience when such an act is doomed to lead to death and destruction?"

He faced them entirely now. "Why did you repeat these mistakes even after you finished burning your planet to cinders?!"

Both humans flinched in response, not even their armour hid the reaction from the satisfied Desolas. "Yes...it took time to crack the files you hadn't erased but I know the story behind your little Alliance." He chuckled and held his arms up dramatically as he proclaimed, "Born of an atomic wasteland, much like another species that once went on to almost overwhelm the galaxy, only you have so much more potential for destruction. Your butchering of your own genome and that of other creatures has produced monsters that are both straight out of a child's nightmare and strong enough that they could tear apart whole armies. The amount synthetics that you allow freedom number in the millions as far as I am aware, and very few are actually shackled or properly restrained to keep them from inciting rebellion despite an existing precedent that should have taught you better." (2)

"Your whole civilization is quite simply a ticking time bomb; your entire history is one of disaster after disaster perpetrated by your own reckless disregard for order and blind devotion to making bigger and more dangerous weapons." Desolas summarized, "Eventually your Alliance will break down and the rest of the galaxy will suffer the fallout of your collapse. I intend to snuff out the flame before it can turn into a nuclear fire as it did three centuries ago on your home world and to do that I will gladly wipe out as many of you as possible to ensure that I preserve the lives of as many of my own people as possible."

The General shrugged and glanced out of the corner of his eye at Saren, who had one set of talons clenched behind his back and glowing with rippling Biotic energy.

"So you see," Desolas added, "It isn't anything personal...it's just your people or mine, and the Spirits themselves will have to come down and stop me before I let my people suffer for your mistakes."

Suddenly the corridor shook and lights began to flicker.

"Ah...and now we know how much time we have left to work with." Desolas added.

Victoria realized what he meant. "Oh God, no."

Xxx

Detachable thruster modules had been fixed to different points of the _Chairman_ , positioned to decrease the chance of any breaking off in mid descent. This technology was initially created as a way of guiding asteroids filled with valuable deposits to a convenient position for mining operations, or to relocate crippled ships for scavenging vital material. They were now firing at full thrust and pushing the entire structure out of position, guiding it on a VI controlled crash course for the city below.

Several million tons of metal came roaring down towards New Taiyuan, leaving the _A'Kalez_ dangling in place.

Xxx

"You don't have long, humans." Desolas called out. "Abandon your efforts and I will allow you to live as prisoners of war."

Nathan glanced at Victoria. "I'm up for telling him to blow me, but I'll leave that up to you."

"Every second is another gamble with your lives that you can't afford to lose!" Saren shouted. "Take the offer!"

Victoria tightened her grip on her Theta Rifle. "General, our response to your 'generous offer' is as follows...Blow me!"

This rebuttal caused Nathan to grin. "Vic, you're a woman after my own heart."

Desolas sighed and turned his head to look at Saren. "Did you hear that brother?" He asked, "...that was their last chance going out the airlock."

His pistol practically leapt into his hand and before either human could properly react to this Desolas fired four shots into Victoria's shields while Saren swung his talon out into the open and lobbed an orb of dark energy at Nathan, who attempted to dodge only for the projectile to curve and follow him before striking him and exploding. Violently fluctuating mass effect fields tore away as his armour beneath his shields, making it easier for Saren to rip through them with his own pistol in two shots before Nathan could return fire. Their opening blow no delivered, both Turians rolled into cover on either side of the corridor and manually opened their weapons' heat sinks to cool them down quicker.

"Got another one in you, brother?" Desolas asked as he swapped his pistol for a Phaeston assault rifle.

Saren responded by clipping his weapon back onto his hip and holding up both hands as an aura of dark energy flared around him.

Back down the corridor, Nathan groaned as he knelt behind cover and listened to the wail of his suit's internal alarm. His visor projected an outline of his armour to show the amount of damage piling up across each section of his suit, and so far he would be lucky if he could take one shot without his shields.

He heard Victoria call out to him. "Campbell!"

"I'm alright!" He replied. "Can't say the same for my-"

A moment later Nathan came to realize that Victoria was not checking on his condition, but had been trying to warn him. Another orb flew from the Turians' position and raced down the hallway, bearing down on Nathan even as he glanced over the edge of the barricade.

"Oh shit!"

The resulting explosion of gravitational forces sent Victoria flying and consumed Nathan entirely. As she scrambled back to her feet Victoria tried to spot her companion in the cloud of dust that had formed around his position. "Nathan!"

Her recharging barriers flashed as a fresh wave of slugs slammed into them, causing Victoria to kick herself mentally and take cover again as Desolas vaulted into view and kept her suppressed with short, controlled bursts.

"Finish her, Saren!" The General called out.

Saren stood up alongside his brother and charged up a third attack. Using his Biotics so much within a short period of time was a strain on the body, but he knew for sure that he was capable of at least several more attacks before it became too much for his brain to handle. Turian Cabals may not be well liked but they still received the best Biotic Amps the Hierarchy could afford if they had enough Biotic potential like Saren did, and the fact that he didn't have blood dribbling out of every orifice in his body was a testament to that quality right now. In no less than ten seconds he had lobbed a Biotic Warp to prime his target followed by a Push to trigger the explosion that had rid him and Desolas of one annoying obstacle.

Repeating that basic but practical combination in the same amount of time would be what humans called a cake walk for Saren, who flung out one arm and lobbed another Warp which curved down to land right on Victoria. However she had seen how he had managed to direct his attacks to follow his targets and anticipated this, waiting until the last second to rolled to the side and let the Warp harmlessly strike the floor beneath where she'd been a split second ago. Victoria used the momentum of her roll to bring herself back up onto her feet and fired her rifle from the hip, striking Desolas in the side while three of his shots bounced off of her restored shields before she slid to where she had last seen Nathan.

"Brother!" Saren glanced at Desolas, who was already shoving his Phaeston into the Cabal's hands.

"Go! I'm fine. Go!" Desolas insisted, collapsing to his knees and covering the burnt and warped area of his armour with one hand, clearly in pain.

Saren wanted to argue the point, but knew that the mission had to take priority over anything else. He growled and aimed the rifle at Victoria's position, waiting for the first hint of his target popping back out for another round.

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnaught** _ **A'Kalez**_

 **Command Deck**

 **0534 Hours**

"Sir! The _Chairman_ is moving! It's on a re-entry approach and being guided right towards New Taiyuan!"

Owen looked to Zero. "Where the hell is that main gun?!"

"I still need two minutes to access it!"

"By then we won't have a clean shot." Elder Thompson said, watching the shrinking silhouette of the _Chairman_ on that tactical display. "We'll be more likely to hit the city or somewhere near it at this angle."

Xxx

 **Turian Cruiser** _ **Valor**_

 **Command Deck**

 **0534 Hours**

"Admiral, the human station has begun its descent!"

Kravos cursed as he stared at the approaching forms of the Alliance fleet. He had managed to gather the surviving Turian ships in the system, but he was almost down to half strength after the destruction of the Relay Guard Flotilla. Now he was outnumbered and had a ship that was larger than anything bar the _Destiny Ascension_ aiming its guns right in his face.

The Alliance flagship was almost fifteen hundred meters long and had torn through the cruisers and frigates at the relay with frightening ease. He didn't want to think of how one sided this fight had become...or what few options he had left besides fighting at all.

There were maybe minutes before the station struck the surface and killed hundreds of thousands. When that happened there would be no peace, his entire fleet would likely be slaughtered as a result of misplaced but understandable righteous fury from the Alliance and afterwards the Hierarchy would be forced to retaliate. They'd send hundreds, maybe thousands of ships right at the Alliance until it was defeated.

The only thing preventing the deaths of most the sentients in the Shanxi system was those few minutes, and he was about to waste them fighting a pointless battle.

"Hail the human flagship."

"Uh...yes sir." Hen'ar complied. "Transmitting now."

They might not even take his call. Even they could see the station beginning its plummet, and they would likely put two and two together quickly.

As the seconds ticked by Kravos could not help but appreciate the irony of his situation. Here he was, promoted to full Admiral with all of the privileges and authority that any Turian would desire. He had command of a whole fleet and more firepower than he'd ever possessed before in his entire life.

He had all of that and yet he was as helpless as a Quarian with a cracked visor in the face of the armada bearing down on his remaining ships. The only thing he could do now was pray that they listened to him long enough to save both his fleet and the city they had come to life the siege of.

"Sir...they're answering."

Kravos shot to his feet as static hissed over the communications channel for several seconds. Once it cleared the room became dead silent save for background noise from the other end of the link.

" _Turian vessels, you have encroached upon Alliance sovereign territory and invaded an Alliance world. If you do not withdraw your forces and cease all military operations immediately you will not be shown any quarter. If you force our hand then rest assured we will not show you mercy._ "

The speaker was cold, to the point and matter of fact. He also had confirmed Kravos' fears. His response would be the difference between life and death for tens of thousands of Turians.

Kravos inhaled slowly. "Alliance vessels, this is Admiral Kravos Pridius, commanding officer of the Turian Hierarchy's 3rd Fleet." He said it as if that was something to be proud of, and what he said next were as good as consigning himself to death in Turian society. "I offer the complete and unconditional surrender of all forces under my command."

Less than an hour as Admiral and he'd surrendered in his first engagement.

It would have been more merciful just to shoot him right on the spot.

When the Alliance officer finally responded Kravos could sense how surprised they were by his statement. " _Admiral Pridius...your offer of unconditional surrender has been received and noted by the Systems Alliance, pending the cooperation of you and all of those within your command. Power down your weapons and shields and prepare to receive coordinates to proceed to. Any deviation from this by any vessels in your fleet will result in their immediate destruction. Any effort to flee or reactivate weapons will result in the complete annihilation of your fleet._ "

After a brief pause the speaker continued.

" _Furthermore, if you do not cease in the de-orbitting of the station Chairman Benny your surrender shall be disregarded entirely. You have five minutes to comply._ "

Now came the hard part: convincing them that his people were not responsible for that.

...

Easier said than done.

Xxx

 **ASV** _ **Einstein**_

 **Command Deck**

 **0536 Hours**

"Well...that was anticlimactic," The Ghoul crewman grumbled as the word came in across the fleet that the Turians were apparently surrendering. "What gives? You'd think they'd still put up a fight or try to run."

"You're more concerned about that than the fact that the _Chairman_ is being falling towards Shanxi right now?!" The ensign next to him demanded.

"Ah don't wet yourself, they already sent a few of those fancy new frigates to blast the station to pieces if the Turians don't stop." The Ghoul shrugged.

Hannah Shepard gripped the arms of her chair tightly, digging her fingers into the leather as she watched the tactical display where three frigates from the _Olympian's_ battle group were accelerating towards Shanxi while the rest of the fleet took up position around the Turian ships, weapons still locked and prepared to fire if the Turian Admiral did not meet the demand to abort the deorbitting of the _Chairman_. Given their current distance and the danger of attempting to travel at FTL speeds too close to the gravitational mass of planet Hannah was not confident that they would be able to intercept the station.

As this went on the enemy flagship remained fixed in geosynchronous orbit where only minutes ago the station had drifted next to it in a perpetual rotation around Shanxi.

"You're sure that the transmission was not coming from the enemy flagship?" Hannah directed her question at the communications officer.

"Affirmative skipper, it came from one of the enemy cruisers."

Hannah peered at the image of the flagship. "Why wouldn't a fleet's commander be on their flagship? We already know that it led the initial invasion."

"Ma'am, I decided to run a check just now and it seems that the signal originating from the enemy flagship is broadcasting on an Alliance frequency. It's short range and so weak that it's probably a Pip-Boy or personal communicator of some kind. I don't think anybody would have found it unless they ran a direct scan of the ship." The Comm. Officer turned in his seat, "Should we answer?"

The only dialogue between the two fleets was going directly through the _Olympian_ and the cruiser of Admiral Pridius. This whole situation was becoming more perplexing by the second and it wasted time that could be spent focusing on stopping the destruction of a whole colony.

"Answer the hail and tap into any remaining satellites over Shanxi to boost the signal."

"Roger that. Channel open."

" _...eat, this is Captain Owen Mason to any Alliance ships, please respond!_ "

The sound of her cousin's voice caused Hannah to surge out of her seat and blurt out a response before she could stop herself. "Owen?!"

" _Hannah?!_ "

"Owen, why is your signal coming from the enemy flagship?"

" _Because I'm on it! Hell, I just led a siege and took control of the bridge a few minutes before you showed up!_ " Owen replied. " _Hannah, listen to me. The Turians aren't deorbitting the station-well not all of them! One of their officers went completely insane and is doing this all on his own! You need to stop wasting time with their fleet and send everything you have to stop the Chairman before it can impact!_ "

This answered some questions and raised many others, but Hannah luckily had inherited her mother's ability to respond quickly to new information. "Lieutenant, hail the _Olympian_ immediately! Get me Drescher and Davis!"

Xxx

 **BFS** _ **Chairman Benny**_

 **Reactor Sector, Outer Ring Crossing**

 **March 15** **th** **, 0536 hours**

At first the two remaining combatants simply exchanged fire, both aiming to observe one another's reaction time, speed and accuracy. Saren was quicker to analyze Victoria, but more due to experience than haste. He used his Biotics to continuously force her to dodge between barricades, and over the brief span of time since their battle had commenced he had watched her act more aggressively. It was a matter of time before she did something reckless, and he was content to hasten that process with more casually flung Warps and Throws.

When that time came and Victoria made her move Saren was ready for her. She vaulted over the barricade and out into the open before letting off a shot at Saren's chest as he charged forward, abandoning his own position. The turian dropped and slid beneath the Theta bolt while returning fire, once again depleting her recently restored barriers. As the Turian began to rise back up to his feet Vic fired off a second shot which grazed him as he side stepped, but she never had time for a third before Saren grasped the body of his Phaeston and swung it in an arch that knocked her weapon from her hands.

Victoria's hands shot forward and grappled with Saren for his weapon. The advantage of physical strength was hers thanks to her armour, but Saren had Biotics on top of more than one surprise that she wasn't ready for. At first he wrestled for the rifle, but then he released it and stepped back while a blue aura covered the rifle...which found its mass being dramatically increased to the point that it drove down into the floor plating and pinned Victoria's right hand that had been transferring itself to the handle. Thankfully it wasn't heavy enough to cause damage, just to take her by surprise long enough for the sudden weight to take her off balance.

Rather than struggle to bring the rifle up Victoria lifted it enough to release her hand as Saren conjured an Omni Blade on each arm and lunged at her. She hastily unsheathed her Proton Knife and parried his first strike before twisting to avoid a stab that left a scrape along her chest pieces. Vic engaged her thrusters and slammed into Saren, flinging him back only for him to recover without even falling and quickly re-engage. He was making sure they remained as close as possible to keep Vic from going for any of her ranged weapons, forcing her to fight on his terms as he dictated the field and method of battle.

"You aren't changing anything with this," Saren said before Vic lashed out with her knife, which he dodged by leaning back out of reach and then raised one of his blades to deflect a jab. "All that you will accomplish is dying with your city."

"And you'll accomplish is killing my city!" Victoria retorted and forced his arms down before her right leg shot up, several thruster ports along her lower leg firing to propel the attack with enough force that it sent Saren flying back when it struck him in the chest. "So who's the bigger fool?"

Before she could get an answer from him a hail of slugs slammed into her barriers from behind. Vic spun around and reached for her Theta pistol as Desolas squeezed off several more shots from his own side arm to drain her shields. When she pulled the gun clear and fired back the Turian was too slow to react thanks to his injury and took the shot right to the chest. Remembering that she had another opponent behind her, Vic pivoted to face Saren but stopped as she felt a burning pain erupt from her right side between her hip and her rib cage. She was unable to hold back a pained scream or keep hold of her weapon as Saren twisted his Omni-Blade in her side and drew back his other arm to sink the second blade into her chest.

"That was your last mistake," He hissed.

But just before he could plunge the blade towards its target Saren felt something slice into his arm at the elbow. When he finished his motion he didn't see the orange glow of his Omni-Blade...only the bloody stump of his right arm as blue blood spurted from the end.

"No, that was yours."

The speaker slammed the hilt of a weapon into the side of Saren's head as he gaped at the sight of his own severed forearm twitching on the floor by his feet. The Turian collapsed as his functioning Omni-Blade dissolved, and Victoria would have joined him if not for a set of strong arms catching her.

"Hang in there, Vic. It looks like he cauterized the wound, so we have time to get you to a doctor."

She looked up and saw the familiar blonde hair and squared jaw.

"N-nate..."

Nathan smiled as he lowered her down onto her back. She could see that his armour was barely holding itself together after that explosion, which he must have only barely survived. "Yep, good old Nate Campbell playing the hero, complete with the bad guy wasting time with a monologue as he prepares to kill the pretty girl." He pulled a Stim-Gel Pack out and inserted it into the burned area where Saren had cut clean through her armour, causing Vic to hiss in pain. "Sorry, I know this feels about as good as a dinner with the in-laws but it'll keep you from going into shock or getting blood poisoning if he nicked anything too important."

"How did you...survive?"

"Oh, just uh...the same dumb luck we've been running on ever since we met." Nate replied and unhooked her helmet. "Sorry that I took as long as I did. Contrary to how I look that explosion did a number on me and I think I blacked out once or twice getting over here."

" _Well about time you two cleaned up out there._ " The sound of Parker's voice rasped through the speakers by the doors, which began to unlock with a series of 'clunks' as numerous locking mechanisms began to shift within. " _I'm all done in here, now let's get the hell off this tub before she blows!_ "

Nathan continued to remove different sections of Victoria's armour, taking care not to aggravate the wound in her side. "Give me a minute. Vic isn't in any condition to walk and I don't think either of us can carry her in full armour. My suit's barely staying in one piece as is."

Jane limped out through the doors towards them. "Aw stand aside you pansy." She shoved him and began to aggressively tug different components off of Victoria, using her proton blade to sever components with such speed that Nathan was surprised to witness her successfully avoid cutting Victoria even once. "Don't have time to be delicate, Campbell. This station's crashing in about twenty minutes and I just pulled every override out of my ass to set it to blow in fifteen!"

After discarding the final piece of Victoria's armour and leaving her clad in a semi-form fitting bodysuit Jane stepped aside. "You carry her, I've already done all the hard work and I'm still bleeding here."

"No complaints here," Nathan hefted Victoria up into his arms, going for a bridal style instead of slinging her over his shoulder like some luggage given the fact that placing her on either side would agitate her wound some more. "Been waiting to get off this station since we got on board! But uh...how are we going to do that? If this thing is dropping already that docking tube won't even be intact."

"Thought on that, and I have a solution." Jane gestured for him to follow her. "We're going to be bringing Mason his ship back."

Xxx

 _ **Get up.**_

Desolas heard a clatter of foot falls as he opened his eyes. He was laying on his back, and in his peripheral vision he saw the figures of one of the humans just before they vanished from view.

 _ **Get up! The path is open!**_

Every movement triggered a fresh wave of pain from his torso. Upon glancing down Desolas saw a mess of... _wires_...and metal. Pulsing red lights flashed from within his exposed rib cage, showing synthetic devices fixed to every bone and organ, spreading like some infestation. His mandibles fell open as he stared in abstract horror at the unnatural view of his own chest cavity.

"What is this?!"

 _ **The doors are open! Move quickly and you can undo what they have done!**_

For a moment the commanding presence dulled the pain and cleared his panicked thoughts. Desolas' eyes glazed over as he looked to the open command center...but the sight of his brother bleeding out on the floor brought him back to reality.

"Saren!"

Desolas crawled as fast as he could to his sibling's side and turned him over onto his back. Now the dismembered limb was clear to see, and a scan from his Omni-Tool confirmed that Saren still lived, though not for long. Desolas placed one knee down on his brother's abdomen and held his Omni-Tool close to the stump.

 _ **He is nothing! Focus on your mission!**_

"Shut up!" Desolas shouted before forming an Omni-Blade and pressing the flat side into the bloody mess. Steam rose as blood was evaporated and a coppery scent quickly permeated the air. The improvised cauterization method drew Saren back to consciousness in a fit of pained groans and screams as he struggled against Desolas' weight, but the older Turian managed to keep him pinned until he pulled the Omni-Blade away and dismissed it.

 _ **The mission must be completed! They must see! They all must see!**_

Desolas groaned and grasped at his head, dropping Saren in the midst of trying to drag him back down the corridor. "No! Saren...he's hurt! I...can't...!"

 _ **They must see! You must complete the mission!**_

 _ **YOU MUST!**_

"STOP!" Desolas howled.

 _ **YOU WILL OBEY!**_

"NO!"

Before he even knew what he was doing Desolas saw the metal floor rushing to meet him as he slammed his cranium down, impacting hard enough to make the metallic carapace that served as a Turian's skin crack and splinter from the force. He remained there with fresh blood beginning to drip down as the voice faded, and then pushed himself back up.

"Saren..." Desolas whispered, "Have to...get Saren...out."

That was all that mattered anymore.

Mission be damned.

Across the galaxy, the dreaming god shrieked as it fully awoke for the first time in many millennia.

Xxx

 **ASV** _ **Einstein**_

 **0542 hours (13 minutes to detonation)**

" _Captain Mason, what you have just described to me can be categorized as nothing short of the most convoluted, melodramatic and insane tale that I have ever heard in my entire military career._ "

Hannah was forced to sit by and watch as Owen attempted to talk Admirals Davis and Drescher out of annihilating what was left of the Turian fleet. The bridge of her ship had been silent for the past several minutes except for the exchange of dialogue between the two flag officers and Owen as well as someone named 'Zero' and a mercenary by the name of Harper who threw his two cents in.

" _We understand how this sounds, Admiral Davis._ " Harper replied, " _It took us by surprise as well, and while we were attempting to sabotage and destroy this flagship no less. But we are convinced that threatening the Turians with death will not accomplish anything, as stopping that station from falling is beyond their control no._ "

Admiral Drescher cursed softly. " _Unbelievable, the aliens have a breakdown in the chain of command and this happens. We'll just need to rely on those frigates we sent to intercept the station._ "

" _They will not arrive in time to be of any use, even by travelling as close as possible at FTL speeds._ " A third disembodied voice of a rather articulate man broadcasting from the _Olympian_ stated. " _And even if they did they would be unable to sufficiently destroy enough of the station to negate any significant damage that it would inflict on New Taiyuan. I am loathe to admit this but the design of the station is too sturdy for it to be destroyed in time by conventional means, even when factoring in the enhanced offensive measures we possess. All that we would accomplish is breaking it into several sizable pieces that would still be likely to strike in or around the city. It appears that we may very well have to rely on the fire team which Captain Mason has on board, failing at that we will have to hope that the city's shields will be truly qualified for deflecting something of that size._ "

Hannah didn't need to see the Alliance Admirals to know that this prospect did not sit well with them. They were being told that there was absolutely nothing that they could do to assist in averting a catastrophe and that they would have to sit by and pray that somebody else was able to do the job right. The three frigates had last reported dropping out of FTL as close as they could to Shanxi and initiating pursuit at sub light speed, but just as the mysterious benefactor aboard the _Olympian_ claimed they would not be able to do enough damage even if they caught up in time.

" _Admirals, it may please you to know that I have just detected a powerful energy build up within the Chairman Benny._ " Zero stated. " _It appears that its core override has been engaged._ "

" _That means they've done it!_ " Owen said urgently, " _Admirals, I advise that you keep those frigates on course. They're going to need to run a rescue operation very shortly to pick up my team._ "

" _Admirals Drescher and Davis do not have authority over the assets of the Olympian battle group, Captain Mason...however your request is still granted._ " The mystery speaker responded. " _In the meantime I would advise that New Taiyuan be informed that they should take precautions. An explosion of such magnitude may still likely cause some damage despite the distance and elevation."_

" _Given the station's current speed, trajectory and its manoeuvring thrusters attempting to resist the descent that explosion would have to be within the next few minutes to avoid catastrophic damage to Shanxi's environment._ " Zero informed all those listening. " _At the minimum elevation required for that any fallout should be minimal and dispersed globally, but the resulting electromagnetic pulse may cause damage to unprotected systems and there may be a risk of environmental contamination in some regions."_

To Hannah this was slowly becoming a repeat of the Great War which she and every other child had been taught about. The station was looking more and more like one big missile ready to rain down death on a once peaceful city. Even if it was detonated long before impact it would still leave its mark on Shanxi, no matter how diluted the fallout was by elevation and weather patterns.

The Ghoul crewman from earlier took this opportunity to speak. "Well...that makes two planets that get nuked...I'm starting to notice a pattern here."

"Do enlighten us." His neighbouring crewman drawled.

"Base your entire civilization on nuclear energy in haste, repent in the medical ward as you get your new extra limbs lasered off."

Xxx

 **BFS** _ **Chairman Benny,**_ **Dry Dock Level**

 **ASV** _ **Fawkes,**_ **Command Centre**

 **0547 hours (10 minutes to detonation)**

"Orbital re-entry is on track," Lieutenant Ossellus stated while examining his Omni-Tool and pacing slowly across the bridge of the human frigate. "Estimated window allowing for safe departure is approximately ten minutes; synchronize Omni-Tools for nine. If we need to leave with or without the General we will wait until we have enough time to safely execute an evacuation."

He looked to the helm where one of his men was deciphering the controls. "Corporal, I trust that you now have an adequate understanding of this vessel's propulsion and navigation."

"Yes sir, as long as you don't ask me to do anything too complex I'm confident that I can pilot us to a safe orbit and maintain it long enough for friendly forces to reach us."

Pleased, Ossellus let him get back to work and contacted the guard he'd posted by the air lock. "Private, did you receive my order?"

" _Affirmative sir! Omni-Tool synchronized and-_ "

A burst of static suddenly replaced what had been a clear line of communications. Ossellus began to go through the motions of re-restablishing contact before realizing that there should not be anything interfering with a short range communication link. Attempting to contact the fleet would require a feat of brilliance in their current predicament, but Private Myrmal was less than a hundred meters away. Interference was minimal at greater ranges and practically non-existent at shorter ones.

Testing his theory, Ossellus contacted the trio of soldiers he had sent to the human engineering section. "Comm. check, go."

" _Comm. check acknowledged, we hear you sir._ "

" _I copy that._ "

" _Communications are fully operational, sir._ "

"I've lost contact with Myrmal," Ossellus informed them. "Make your way to my position and sweep the ship on the way. I want Sensor Drones online; we've all see the capabilities of a human cloaking field."

" _Affirmative, we're on the move!_ "

Ossellus tapped into the nearest console. "I need access to the security systems, internal and external."

"Wish I could help sir, but I've only just mastered the ability of pushing this backwards hunk of scrap forward, and only in theory with this half assed translation index." The Corporal manning the helm replied, "Should we push the deadline forward?"

Shaking his head, Ossellus tapped into the security systems and had the bridge doors seal themselves shut. "No, we need to give the General as much time as we can. I'll handle accessing surveillance and you keep analyzing the helm controls."

Before he could get too far in his efforts Ossellus heard a burst of gunfire through his communicator. " _Sir, we've engaged hostiles on the crew deck! Thaelak is down and we are pinned! There are at least two hostiles with a third wounded and-AGH!_ "

" _Spirits! It's like our shields are little more than tissue paper! I'm falling back to engineering; I can't hold this-UGH!_ "

His pulse began to race as Ossellus lost the signal. He unfolded his assault rifle and glanced at his last remaining squad member. "Belay my previous order. Prepare to take off, and afterwards we can figure out how to flush every compartment but this one and send these humans out the air lock."

" _Uhhhhhh no._ " A new voice interrupted, originating from the speakers on the bridge itself. " _I've had to deal with you bird faced creeps crawling all over me and going to places that meat bags have no business stepping, so I think I'll help show you the door._ "

The doors suddenly unlocked and parted in time for Ossellus to catch sight of a figure in black armour aiming a pistol his way. Before he could bring his rifle up a blue sphere spat from the tip of the weapon and in an instant the Turian's entire head was reduced to little more than a mess of blue pulp and fragments of carapace scattered across the bridge floor. The Corporal at the Helm reached for one of his weapons, but never even got an opportunity to stand up before the intruder shot him in the back once.

Jane lowered her weapon. "Alright, that's the last one." She waved one arm, signalling Nathan to step out from cover with Jane still in his arms. "Well ain't that typical: these things fly a trillion miles to start something and they can't even master the art of locking a door. I'm starting to think life out there ain't as intelligent as we thought."

" _Actually, you can thank me for unlocking the door, along with every other door on the ship for you._ " The voice from the speakers, which had a similar rasp to Jane's-the kind found in all Ghouls, " _And I have to say it is about damn time you guys showed up._ "

Nathan laughed. "Grump! How are you up here? You're supposed to be ground side!"

An avatar of the AI appeared before them as they entered the bridge. " _It's called a copy, dumb ass. AIs do it literally all the time. Prime Grump left me up here just in case there was more to be found out from these birds. When I detected them going through my systems I came back online and lo and behold all Hell has broken loose. Care to give me the abridged summary?_ "

"The Turians are trying to crash this station, we set it to blow and now we really need to get out while we can." Nathan explained while setting Victoria down in one of the seats. "Is there still a med kit in here? The infirmary was picked clean."

" _Wondered why you brought her here. Check under the floor panels for one of Owen's stashes._ "

Nathan knelt and searched along the floor while Jane tugged the dead Turian away from the Helm station. His searching paid off as he pulled up a panel to reveal a concealed compartment with a fresh supply of Stim-Gel among other things readily available.

"Score!"

"Wait for treating her until after we're clear." Jane slid into the pilot's seat. "Grump, can you help me get this junker moving?"

" _Well fuck you too, this unker is my body and I can't help it if Owen went and got me dinged up-_ "

"GRUMP!" Both Jane and Nathan shouted.

" _Fine! Christ, I already have the engines back online._ " Grump replied defensively, " _Just give it a minute and we'll be out of...uh oh._ "

Nathan looked up from the compartment. "Uh oh?" He inquired, "I don't like 'uh oh' right when we're making a dramatic escape, especially after every single conceivable thing going south today the way it has."

" _Two Turians just boarded before I could lock down the air lock."_ Grump explained before clarifying. _"Well...two badly wounded Turians._ "

With rising suspicion, Nathan asked. "Is one by any chance missing an arm?"

" _Bingo, and the other looks ready to drop dead...yeesh, I'm guessing you guys did a real number on these chumps. By the way, in case you're wondering, you've got just over seven minutes left now._ "

Nathan looked at Jane. "Lock down the bridge and get us ready for takeoff, I'll go handle them."

"Or we could just vent them," Jane suggested, "You know, forgo another epic showdown?"

"If they're badly wounded as we left them then I could convince them to stand down." Nathan replied as he strapped Victoria into her seat and then checked over his rifle and pistol. "Ah crap."

The Theta-Rifle had survived the explosion from earlier mostly intact, but the frame was badly damaged and a red light blinking on the side indicated that at least one vital mechanism within the weapon was beyond functioning. The power cell he'd inserted was still intact otherwise the rifle would have exploded, but his primary weapon was as good as toast.

"You can take mine then." Jane unhooked her rifle, which she had kept on her back in favour of her pistol for the sake of wielding a lighter and smaller weapon in a more enclosed space while reducing the strain on her injured shoulder. "And try not to break it; this shit comes out of our pay."

While that little tidbit didn't bode well for Nathan, he chose not to comment and stepped back out of the bridge while Jane sealed the doors behind him.

"Alright, now to focus on driving," Jane muttered.

" _Good thing these bird brains already had the engines cooking. We'll be set to go in a few moments, but I can't guarantee that we'll stay flying after we take off._ "

Xxx

 **Shanxi**

 **New Taiyuan**

 **0550 Hours (7 minutes until detonation)**

The moment that the _Chairman Benny_ had been spotted beginning its descent Williams had issued an immediate order for all remaining units to evacuate to the nearest bunker or to find a functioning air craft and escape the city. He and Sentinel Noland were coordinating both the evacuation of the Citadel and one final hasty attempt to repair some of the Shell's disabled emitters.

"We never did get to test this damn thing for meteors." Williams commented as he and the Super Mutant climbed into an ARV which shrieked out of the plaza in front of the Citadel and made for the edge of the protected zone. "What do you think the odds are on the Shell holding?"

"I would rather not test it at all with the lives of our people depending on it." Noland answered, "But I am surprised that you so easily agreed to accompany me for this."

Williams glanced over his shoulder into the back seats at the Sentinel. "I've got a son and a daughter-in-law down in one of these bunkers along with three granddaughters." He stated firmly, "If I can increase their chances of coming out of this alive then you can be damn sure I'll drive out here, suicide or not."

The driver chose this moment to speak up. "Sir, we're approaching the nearest emitter!"

"Well Colonel if we live through this and you have any grandsons I expect to have one named after me." Noland grunted and opened one of the doors as the vehicle shrieked to a halt close to where one of the Shell's damaged emitters was still standing.

Xxx

 **ASV** _ **Fawkes**_

 **Command Deck**

 **0551 Hours (6 minutes until detonation)**

" _Navigation is green, life support and gravity green, engines...yellowish with a hint of orange._ " Grump announced. " _Alright, I'll release the docking clamps and open the hangar doors. Whatever you do just go absolutely straight so we don't scrape off half the hull, I've already lost the feeling in enough extremities here thanks to you meat bags._ "

Jane grasped the controls and made sure her harness was keeping her secure to the seat. "Do it!"

The doors parted ahead of the damaged frigate, showing the curve of Shanxi slowly creeping up further into view.

" _Clamps releasing in ten seconds, so make sure to hit the forward thrusters immediately-_ "

"Make it three!"

" _Fuck the countdown then! NOW!_ "

Jane gunned the ship forward just as Grump had the docking clamps release their hold on the hull. The _Fawkes_ shot forward and exploded out through the open doors. Before she knew it Jane was treated to the view of the _Chairman_ in one of the functioning dorsal cameras, eliciting a cackle from her. "We're safe!"

Suddenly the controls died in front of her.

" _We just lost the main thrusters._ "

Jane's eyes widened as she watched Shanxi through the canopy. The initial thrust had been enough to get them accelerated enough to hold a stable but temporary orbit, and the navigational thrusters were still online and could provide some additional velocity, but if the few functioning monitors were to be believed...

"We're _dead._ " The Ghoul groaned as she watched a countdown estimating the time that it would take for orbital decay to bring the frigate crashing down. (3)

Xxx

End of Chapter

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing Files...**

 **File Opened: The Shame of the 3** **rd** **Fleet**

 **The Battle of Shanxi is considered one of the most humiliating events in the recent history of the Turian Hierarchy. What began as a simple pacification mission against a reportedly hostile species turned into a destructive rampage by General Desolas Arterius and opposed by 3** **rd** **Fleet's Admiral Trisun, who was murdered by Arterius after attempting to retake command of her flagship, the** _ **A'Kalez.**_ **After Kravos Pridius was promoted by way of the Rite of Digeris he formally surrendered to the Alliance Fleet that arrived in the Shanxi System minutes later, leaving a sizable portion of the 3** **rd** **Fleet at the mercy of the Systems Alliance. The aftermath of this incident marked the end of many careers for promising officers and the execution of many others complicit in Desolas Arterius' plan to commit the Hierarchy to a full interstellar war.**

 **Others refer to this event as 'The Humbling of the Hierarchy' and 'The Fall of House Arterius' among other Turian clans and species.**

(1) A reference to the Mechanist from Fallout 3- though I've heard in a recent DLC the Mechanist has appeared in some new form. I must make a note to download that while I have the chance.

(2) Desolas is referring to a history record of the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel's encounter with The Caulculator, the mad AI of Vault 0 which commanded a robot army and considered everything organic an enemy.

(3) Okay I'm not going to lie, this moment is inspired by a moment from Star Wars Rebels in the episode 'Brothers of the Broken Horn' where Hondo Ohnaka is assisting Ezra Bridger in fighting a group of pirates only to end up falling on a tram that is sent shooting towards an open hangar door. On route, a case full of credits falls into Hondo's lap and he eagerly snatches it up while shouting 'I'm rich!' only to shout as he almost gets shunted out into space 'I'm _dead!'_

Oh, and because I did promise to do this a few chapters ago, here's the summary for this chapter

 **The Alliance Fleet finally launches its attack to lift the siege of Shanxi , supported by a mysterious battle group of highly advanced warships commanded by a mysterious benefactor. Kravos, faced with the choice of surrendering or letting what is left of the depleted Turian fleet being destroyed, chooses the former despite knowing that it will mean the end of his very short career as an Admiral and very likely would result in him being alienated from Turian society. However, the Alliance fleet believes him to be responsible for the** _ **Chairman**_ **station being de-orbitted and threatens to destroy his fleet if he does not stop.**

 **As Owen and the freed Alliance prisoners aboard the** _ **A'Kalez**_ **attempt to unlock the primary systems and find a way to render aid to Victoria's team on the** _ **Chairman,**_ **Victoria and Nathan confront Desolas and Saren at the reactor core. After the station begins its forced descent the four engage in a brief but fearsome duel that ends with Saren losing an arm and Victoria being badly wounded. Nathan and Jane carry Victoria to the** _ **Fawkes**_ **while Owen successfully contacts Hannah Shepard, who is part of the Alliance Fleet coming to Shanxi's aid, and informs her of Desolas' plot. The Alliance fleet is unable to scramble quickly enough to destroy the station before it can impact New Taiyuan, but Jane has set the station to detonate before it can impact.**

 **After storming the badly damaged** _ **Fawkes**_ **, with assistance from a copy of the AI Grump, Jane prepares the ship to depart while Nathan heads aft to deal with Desolas, who has managed to get aboard with Saren. Jane is able to launch the** _ **Fawkes**_ **only to lose use of the primary engines almost immediately afterwards.**


	17. Chapter 16: Shanxi Insurgency Part 8

The Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

And here we have it...the very final part. In order to avoid dragging this chapter out I'm going to focus everything on the _Fawkes_ except for cutting away only when absolutely necessary.

Here we go.

Xxx

Chapter Sixteen: The Shanxi Insurgency, Part 8, Legacies

 **ASV** _ **Fawkes**_

 **Crew Deck, Infirmary**

 **0550 Hours (7 minutes to detonation)**

It had been an ordeal to drag Saren all the way across the station, but as Desolas strapped his brother down he knew that he would have walked the distance a thousand times to keep him safe. The surface that the younger Arterius now lay on was part of what Desolas' men had identified as a surgical table, complete with restraints for holding down violent patients and doubling as a safety mechanism in case the artificial gravity went offline. Given how badly the room was shaking he felt it was a better idea to leave Saren secure before the ship took off.

 _ **They control the ship.**_

"Shut up." Desolas whispered as he finished strapping down Saren's remaining arm and then ran his Omni-Tool over the stump of his severed arm.

 _ **You saw the bodies. You no longer have control!**_

Even in his present state Desolas couldn't miss the bodies of his men strewn about the ship which he had passed on the way.

 _ **They will never let you leave alive...they will never let your brother leave alive.**_

Leaning his weight on the edge of the table, Desolas slammed the heel of one hand into the side of his skull repeatedly. "Shut up. Shut up. _Shut up. Shut. Up._ "

 _ **You abandoned your mission, General. Now you are abandoning your-**_

"I am not!" Desolas twisted away from the table and looked around the infirmary. "You...whatever you are. You're not fooling me." He shook his head. "I can hear you now, I know my thoughts from yours."

He tapped the side of his head. "You might have dug in here but back at the reactor you gave yourself away!" The General laughed. "You hear that?! Your tantrum gave you away! I know you're in my head now and you can't make me do anything!"

Pain spike in the back of his head and made Desolas groan, but soon he was laughing again. "Not so easy controlling me when I know you're there, right?" He demanded. "You can't control me now!"

 _ **...we have always controlled you.**_

This time the pain knocked Desolas to his knees as he gripped his head in both hands.

 _ **You have been granted the illusion of freedom by our whim so that you may remain useful. But now...you may serve only one purpose to us.**_

Desolas planted his hands against the floor plating as he tried to keep from blacking out, and saw light emanating from his wounds again. The cybernetics latched to his physiology pulsed with energy, each second adding a fresh wave of intense aching to his bones and muscles as his eyes somehow beheld swarms of microscopic machines flowing across the surface of bones and organs alike.

Desperately, he clawed at the opening, trying to rip the swarm away. He tried to scream as they spread outwards like an infestation, but no sound could be forced from his throat. A numbing sensation spread across his body as his arms fell limply to his sides and his head lulled back to stare at the ceiling blankly.

 _ **Assuming direct control.**_

The last thing Desolas heard was the familiar sound of a human energy weapon charging before he was consumed by darkness.

Xxx

"Don't. Fucking. Move." Sergeant Nathan Campbell kept just out of arm's reach of the kneeling Desolas, peering through the sights of Jane's Theta rifle. "Grump? I have them both in my sights. One's down, the other is almost right there with him."

" _I have internal sensors up...wait, something is wrong with the one in front of you. I'm picking up a lot of EM interference from him._ " Grump muttered. " _Crap, got no time to do an in depth scan. I need to help Parker get this thing in the air. You may wanna brace yourself in case the inertial compensation field gives out in this section._ "

"Noted." Nathan nodded, "Get back to Jane, I'll keep our guests company until we're clear."

He slowly moved around Desolas' right side, keeping the rifle pointed at the Turian. Now he could see the clouded over expression, the twitching mandibles, the eerie red glow...

And when Nathan reached the Turian's front he saw the horde of nanomachines expanding across Desolas like a tide of liquid metal.

"Jesus!" Taking a step back, Nathan lowered his rifle a bit...which proved to be a mistake.

Faster than any normal human could react, Desolas was suddenly on his feet and gripping Nathan by the throat with one hand that squeezed with enough strength to cut off his airway despite the presence of his hard suit reinforcing his neck. The Turian's other hand had forced the Theta rifle up as he slammed Nathan against the wall of the infirmary.

Now Nathan could see the red glow of his eyes.

" _ **Direct intervention is necessary.**_ "

When Desolas spoke, it sounded as if a thousand voices echoed his words. His voice was distorted, lower...almost mechanical.

" _ **I am Nazara,**_ " Desolas declared, " _ **And your interference is at an end.**_ "

He began to squeeze harder, applying sufficient force that if not for the engines activating in that instant and launching the ship forward he would have easily snapped Nathan's neck. Just as Grump had predicted the mass effect generated compensation field that protected individual sections of the ship had failed to activate, resulting in both Desolas and Nathan being flung to the aft section of the medical bay. The door there registered them on its motion sensor and opened to admit them to the surgical bay, which they crashed right into, smashing through any equipment that had been left bolted to the floor or walls.

However, the compensation field within the surgical bay was operational, thanks in part to redundant designing aimed at ensuring the ship's CMO could continue operating in the event of a severe injury during a battle. Desolas slid down the back wall and landed on his feet while Nathan, who had crashed into the surgery table, pulled himself up and raised his rifle, which he had kept hold of despite the previous few moments. He fired, but Desolas twisted out of the way with speed that Nathan had only ever witnessed a Psyker accomplish; the Turian repeated this feat three more time as he launched himself off of the walls to avoid Nathan's shots.

"Grump, do you have gravity control?!" Nathan shouted as he back up towards the doors leading back to the infirmary.

" _Yeah but we just lost the engines and there's a station literally five minutes from blowing up that's a lot closer than I'm comfortable with!_ "

Nathan resisted the urge to inform the AI that the operational status of the engines was at the top of the list of issues that were the furthest from his interest. "One crisis at a time, Grump! Enhance artificial gravity in the surgical bay on my mark, high as it'll go!"

" _Ready!_ "

Nathan leapt back just as Desolas lunged at him. "Mark!"

Desolas suddenly lost all momentum and crashed to the floor plating, creating severe indentations in the floor where he landed. Growling, the Turian planted his hands and began to slowly push himself back up despite being exposed to a crushing gravity that would have killed any normal human or Turian. A stream of nanomachines began to spill onto the floor beneath him as he forced himself to stand up, and they pooled by his feet while fighting the pull of gravity to climb back up his legs. Slowly he began to step forward to cross the threshold into the medical bay.

" _ **You...will not be permitted...to endure!**_ " Desolas gasped, straining with each step. " _ **Your kind is...an aberration, a mistake...a disease that has infested the cosmos.**_ "

"Grump, lower a security barrier over the operating bay door!"

A kinetic barrier appeared to bar Desolas' path. The Turian pushed against it and hissed at Nathan through the blue tinted energy field.

" _ **You shall not taint the imposed order!**_ " Desolas shouted, talons scraping across the interior of the barrier. " _ **Resistance will inevitably lead to the same outcome, submit now and those among you who prove worthy shall be permitted to evolve.**_ "

"What the hell are you?" Nathan whispered while stepping away, able to stand now that the compensation field had flickered back on in the infirmary.

A pair of talons tore through the barrier, sprouting from the blue tinted energy field before it began to dissolve, allowing Desolas to step into the infirmary. Nathan now had a close look at the General's blood stained face and the stream of nanomachines trickling from the cracks in carapace across the forehead area.

Desolas held his arms out to his sides as a red aura surged along both limbs and gathered in his palms. " _ **We are merciful oblivion.**_ " He answered, and as he thrust both hands forward Nathan felt a sense of nostalgia as he was flung back, reliving the moment back in the Bunker Vault when General Mycroft had displayed his apparent use of Biotics...right before he felt the window separating the infirmary from the rec area at the heart of the crew deck shatter when he hit it.

"Uhn..." Nathan groaned, counting how many times he had been a victim of a Biotic attack in the past few days...he was a little too dizzy to make a proper count but he was confident that he could count it on both hands now.

" _Holy crap...what was that?_ " Grump asked. " _It's like he's bleeding Eezo out of every hole in his body!_ "

This copy of Grump wouldn't be aware of the data that had been taken from the Turian frigate, or about the existence of Biotics due to being stranded on the _Fawkes_ over the course of the Battle of Shanxi.

"Long story short...he's got space magic." Nathan gave an abridged explanation as he grasped one of the tables and used it to pull himself back to his feet. "But I've never seen that red glow before, they're supposed to glow blue like that Turian strapped down the infirmary did when he blasted me."

" _Wondered why your army looked like it'd been put through a meat grinder. Oh, and now it's four minutes to detonation._ " Grump commented before Desolas leaped up into the shattered window frame and leered at Nathan before lunging at him. " _Brace yourself!_ "

Nathan latched onto the table and locked the soles of his boots to the floor plating, and just before Desolas would have reached him the inertial compensation field protecting the central crew deck was deactivated and the Turian was flung to the side and towards the aft section where he rolled clumsily and dug his talons into the floor to steady himself.

"Thanks!" Nathan shouted and brought his Theta pistol up, squeezing off two quick shots that took Desolas off guard and actually blasted one of his arms off.

" _ **Strike down one, and a legion will replace it.**_ " Desolas stated, seemingly ignorant of his newly severed limb as he casually stood up and emanated that red glow again. " _ **Wound us, kill us, and we will rise back up stronger than before.**_ "

" _I don't mean to make your confidence sink any further Campbell...but this guy is projecting Mass Effect fields that seem to be acting as an improvised compensation field._ " Grump warned Nathan.

True to the AI's statement, the Turian was able to stand upright and walk forward, seemingly unphased by the velocity that the _Fawkes_ was travelling at.

"You know Grump, I'm thinking that trick isn't going to work anymore." Nathan said, stepping back to keep distance between him and the...thing that used to be a Turian. "Bring back the compensation field and kill the gravity in here!"

" _Done!_ "

Desolas momentarily rose up off of the floor, but with a single gesture of his arms he generated repulsive mass effect fields which acted as a form of propulsion. Nathan unlocked from the floor plating and engaged the few functioning thrusters on his armour to glide out of the path of what was increasingly becoming a monstrous and almost demonic foe. Desolas effortlessly spun and held out one hand as his red Biotic aura flared, and Nathan found his course being altered by a red field of energy surrounding what at first looked like a black sphere...

" _Holy fucking Death Claw balls don't go near that!_ " Grump shouted frantically.

"Easier said than-" Nathan unfolded his Xiphos and stabbed it down into the floor plating in an effort to halt his progress towards the singularity. "Done!"

" _That's a miniature gravitational singularity! Damn, I actually thought it was a mini black hole or something! He's created an area covered in intense mass effect fields drawing everything in towards a sphere of dark energy! How the actual hell does somebody do that?!_ "

"Grump, I already told you!" Nathan grunted as he locked the gauntlet of his free hand down to the surface beneath him and began to crawl, fighting the pull of the singularity. "Space magic! Now less science stuff and more strategizing! You're a combat AI so start making combat strategies!"

" _At this point I'm ready to suggest that you get Super Mutant Jesus to walk down a river of FEV and save your ass. Oh, and three minutes!_ "

"The countdown is not helping!" Nathan shouted as the singularity finally faded and he was able to push off of the floor just in time to avoid Desolas' claws, which glowed and emitted so much heat that when they carved into the floor where the human had been they left deep gouges lined with red to indicate that the metal had been superheated to the point of melting and the circuitry beneath had been fried. "That is _not_ helpful, Grump! What would be helpful is ANYTHING ELSE!"

" _Well I'm sorry, a lot of my internal systems are down so I'm practically working with all but a few broken fingers here!_ " The AI replied defensively. " _And in case this flew over your head: I'm a copy! A fragment! I've got maybe ten percent of the power the real deal has!_ "

"Less defeatist talk and more THINKING! Ten percent of a state of the art military AI has to be worth something so put that ten percent to use before he-" Nathan was cut off by Desolas grabbing his ankle and flinging him around.

Nathan raised his arms just in time to keep his nose from being broken against the ceiling. He coughed and twisted around, kicking at the hand firmly wrapped around his ankle, "Does that."

" _Okay, okay, got something! Stand by!_ "

"For what?!"

" _Just stand by!_ "

Nathan fired his Theta Pistol, but Desolas barely flinched even as the armour and carapace covering his chest was melted away to fully unveil the cybernetics cradled in what used to be his chest cavity. Gravity was restored without warning, causing Nathan to land on his side and lose his grasp on his weapon while Desolas landed effortlessly on his feet. The sound of the doors to the stairwell opening made the Turian turn his head.

" _ **Your life is meaningless,**_ " Desolas decided and made his way towards the base of the stairs, leaving behind a trail of red tinted ripples from the aura of dark energy surrounding him. " _ **This vessel shall serve our purpose.**_ "

Before he could even reach the stairs Desolas spotted a figure stepping down into view.

"Uhhhhhh not likely," Jane replied as she flexed her prosthetic hand and stepped forward to block Desolas' path. "This thing is drifting, so you're not likely to drive this into the city if that's the idea. So are you going to finally give up like a good little boy or am I going to have to finish what Campbell and Mason were too soft to do themselves?"

Desolas tilted his head as the presence known as Nazara considered its tactical options. If the Ghoul spoke truthfully and there were no means of getting the vessel operational long enough to use it as a projectile in place of the station then it had exhausted all plausible means of carrying out its plan, meaning that there was only one thing left to do.

Cover up any evidence of its involvement.

" _ **You have the attention of those far beyond your comprehension,**_ " Desolas growled as Nathan unsheathed his Xiphos again and took up position behind him. " _ **Your insolence has stayed the coming end, but only for a time.**_ " The Turian turned to present his sides to both opponents and looked at Nathan. " _ **Die knowing that your resistance today was useless in the grand scheme of-**_ "

A Power Fist slammed into Desolas' jaw, snapping off every mandible on the left side and sending the possessed Turian flying back past Nathan. Jane Parker's hand retracted as she charged forward.

"I've had about enough of your fucking mouth!" The Inquisitor stated and reared back her arm, delivering a downwards blow to Desolas' head before he could even finish standing up. "Because of you I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be in a hospital for fucking months after this so do me a favour and either lay down and die or shut the hell up!"

Before she could land a third blow Desolas reached up and caught her fist in his palm...and then twisted Jane's arm as he rose up to tower over her, bending the prosthetic in a way that forced the Inquisitor to get down on one knee. Now from this pose she could see the inside of Desolas' shattered mouth and the opening to his throat as well as sections where her punches had shattered and knocked loose more sections of the Turian's crumbling outer shell.

Desolas forced her to stretch her arm out and then rammed one knee up into the elbow section, breaking clean through the limb and tearing it free from the Ghoul. Before Jane could even process what happened she was struck on the head by her own dismembered arm with enough force to knock her on her side.

"JANE!"

Nathan's sword sank deep into Desolas' chest as the human collided with the Turian, who by now resembled a walking corpse with how much damage had been done to his body. Pulling the Xiphos free, Nathan stabbed up into the mess of organs and cybernetics while pushing Desolas back towards the shattered window of the infirmary.

Within the separate room, still strapped down safely, Saren Arterius opened his eyes and beheld the view of his brother pinned against the remains of the window, one arm attempting to fend off the almost rabid assault of the human known as Campbell who repeatedly impaled Saren's elder brother. Campbell bore a savage snarl on his face as he continued to tear into Desolas, spilling blood and globules of organ tissue from a large opening in the Turian's torso.

"Fucking-" Nathan grunted as Desolas' one hand found his throat again. "Die you piece of shit!"

This time he stabbed the sword down through the top of Desolas' head, sinking it in down to the hilt. The shattered and mutilated body of Desolas Arterius seized up once...and then finally went limp as the red glow of the cybernetics sustaining him began to shut down. Throughout it all the Turian's brain functions were preserved for a few precious seconds, longer than he would have lasted without the mechanical infestation in his body.

The red glow faded from his eyes as he slowly turned his head down to look at the human before him stained with both red and blue blood, covered in bruises and clad in badly damaged armour...

Desolas' few remaining mandibles spread as a rattling breath escaped his throat.

"Thank..." He whispered. "You..."

And then the nanomachines sustaining him shut down, no longer able to support even themselves without a functioning brain and nervous system to draw on power from. The presence known as Nazara shrieked once again as it felt the signal of its puppet blink out of existence, leaving it alone in the void to stew in the aftermath of its failure; all that it had was the final image transmitted through a link between entangled particles straight from the Turian's eyes, the face of a scourge upon all that it was intent on upholding.

But in that room, to Nathan Campbell, all that he witnessed was General Desolas Arterius finally collapsing to the floor, never to rise again...and leaving him exposed to the shocked and devastated stare of the now conscious Turian who had witnessed the final moments of the madman who had almost destroyed Shanxi.

Xxx

"B...brother...?" Saren whispered, his remaining hand attempting to reach out to the limp form of his brother before it fell out of view, leaving him face to face with the yellow haired human from before.

A pair of blue orbs met Saren's eyes, and both of them remained still as the rest of the universe faded away around them. To Saren there was only that one being, the sole cause of the fresh wave of pain that filled every portion of his body and unleashed itself as a choked scream, either one of rage or sorrow. Now he struggled against his bindings, his hand attempting to reach out and grab the savage that had extinguished his brother's spirit and mauled his body before his very eyes.

He screamed and cried...because that was the only thing he could do anymore.

His brother was dead.

He was alone.

Xxx

Nathan felt a pang of guilt as he turned away from the window, trying to block out the cries of the Turian. He walked towards the fallen form of Jane and saw that the entire side of her skull had shattered...he could see grey matter glistening within as well as several globs on the floor amidst a spreading pool of blood surrounding Jane's body.

"Jane?" Nathan knelt and saw one of her eyes twitch open and slowly turn up towards him.

"Uh..." A long, strained breath escaped from the Inquisitor. "Uh...wuh...always..."

Somehow she managed to bring her mouth to curve into a smile. "Knew...you kids would...be...the death of..." Her smile faded and her eye clouded over.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Nathan bowed his head and reached out, closing both of Jane's eyes. "Yeah," He smiled humorlessly, "You were right this time, Janie." He gently rested his hand on an undamaged section of her skull. "But you pulled us out of the fire more than once...you're probably the only reason I'm still alive right now."

" _Campb...Nathan._ " Grump said softly, " _You aren't out of the woods yet. If you don't do something quick we're all gonna burn up on re-entry._ "

"I know." Nathan stood up and turned away from the corpse of a person he had come to know as a friend. "The engines...can I get them working again?"

" _If you get to the engine core I can guide you through the steps to jump start the-_ "

Whatever the copy of Grump intended to say never reached Nathan's ears. The entire ship was rocked by a sudden and violent tremor that knocked Nathan into a wall. He latched onto the surface and held tight. "Oh shit...Grump, did the station just blow?!"

There was no answer.

"Grump?!"

Then Nathan was torn away from the wall and crashed into another surface. A flash of red consumed his vision as pain lanced through his skull, and then he saw only darkness.

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnaught** _ **A'Kalez**_

 **Command Deck**

 **Several moments earlier**

"The _Fawkes'_ primary engines are still inactive, Captain." Zero stated, now seated at the helm. "I am sorry, but based on the specifications of this vessel any effort to bring us into low orbit for rescue operations would result in a sub orbital descent that we would be unable to pull out of. We would be placed on a crash course with no means of assisting the _Fawkes_."

"What about those frigates they sent? Are they moving in?" Owen demanded.

The android shook her head. "Negative. They are still maintaining a safe distance from the _Chairman_. Due to the engine failure of the _Fawkes_ it is still in range of any electromagnetic waves generated by the station's detonation. Based on the build up I am detecting the countdown has reached less than a minute. I do not know if the _Fawkes_ will be able to survive such an encounter even with the distance generated between the two."

Owen paced urgently. "Shit...shit..." He muttered, "There has to be something we can do from here, anything!"

A firm hand clasped his shoulder, and Owen turned to see Jack Harper, who shut his eyes and shook his head. "I'm sorry Mason, but they've been out of our hands ever since General Arterius cut us off from the station."

"Warning!" Zero shouted. "Detonation imminent! All hands: brace yourselves!"

She cut the feed of the descending _Chairman_ station as well as every other external hull feed.

Xxxx

 **Shanxi**

 **New Taiyuan**

"Impact in less than five minutes," Noland sighed, glancing up from his Pip-Boy at the growing ball of fire. "Perhaps we should have saved that flask a bit longer."

Casting an irritated glare at the Super Mutant, Williams shook his head. "That bar is sounding pretty good right now." He held up his Pip-Boy and projected the image of an old photograph from the screen.

"Would those be the grand children you mentioned?" Noland inquired.

"That they would be," Williams sighed, looking at the image of all three of his granddaughters at a previous birthday party he had failed to attend, "Did you have any kids before you got mutated?"

"Can't say I did," Noland replied, "I can barely remember any of my life before I got dunked in FEV to be honest."

"They say that right before death your life flashes before your eyes, so you might remember pretty soon." Williams pointed out, "If you did though...bet they'll be saving us a seat at that bar."

Noland laughed. "They'd better be in that case!"

The banter helped to calm to dour mood of the group as they sat by and waited for what they believed to be the end...

And then a blinding flash illuminated the whole city. Some began to glance up only to quickly look down and cover their eyes while those wearing helmets had to tint their visors to protect their vision. What followed next was a series of tremors that swept through the city, accompanying a deafening explosion of sound and a shockwave which shattered windows, wrecked weakened structures and caused many to clap their hands over their ears. Everywhere electronic devices not designed with protection against EMP sparked and shorted out, though thankfully a history of nuclear warfare had left the Alliance with a habit of making all vital systems and military equipment EMP hardened. Lights flickered and died throughout many buildings while the Turians still camped out several dozen miles away experienced a similar occurrence.

A miniature sun briefly formed over New Taiyuan as the _Chairman Benny_ exploded. The Shell flickered and sputtered in different regions and even failed entirely in others, but any damage to the city itself was minimal compared to what it would have been otherwise.

Colonel Williams and Sentinel Noland waited until the blinding flash had subsided to raise their heads alongside the men and women around them, peering up to see how the cloud formations had been utterly dispersed, leaving a massive gap of clear sky polluted only by the fading ball of fire.

"It's...gone?"

"It blew up!"

Williams released a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. "Oh God," He didn't know if he was about to laugh or burst into tears. "Oh my God!"

Noland gripped the Colonel's arm to hold him steady. "Easy there Colonel," He grunted, "I think that we just got a very light taste of what our ancestors went through centuries ago. We should be thankful that we didn't just have a full re-enactment of the Great War."

Xxx

 **Turian Dreadnaught** _ **A'Kalez**_

 **Command Deck**

"Sensors back online...and picking up a strong concentration of nuclear radiation in the stratosphere." Zero announced, "It was an air burst, sir. Long term damage to Shanxi will be minimized. However, the radioactive cloud is blocking our remaining sensors, so I can't verify the condition of New Taiyuan."

"What about the _Fawkes?_ " Owen asked. "Is she still out there?"

"Current status is unknown as of yet sir, but the Alliance frigates are moving in now and should be reporting back soon."

Owen stared at the main screen as the external hull cameras came back online. He stood still as a statue as the three frigates passed by the dreadnaught and made their way to the _Fawkes'_ last known position.

Minutes began to tick by, and nobody on the bridge dared to move a muscle as they waited for confirmation. Meanwhile other Alliance ships began to move in, several coming up alongside the Turian flagship but making no move to board.

Finally, Zero spoke. "Confirmation received, sir...they found the _Fawkes._ "

Xxx

 **High Orbit over Shanxi**

 **0925 Hours**

The three frigates dragged the burnt and shattered remains of Owen's ship back up into a stable orbit utilizing some sort of magnetic field that seized hold of the _Fawkes_ and gently eased her off of a slow descent towards Shanxi. The frigate had been left vulnerable to the explosion created by the _Chairman_ due to the severe damage to its hull and the internal mechanisms and circuitry, resulting in vital systems being partially or completely exposed to the electromagnetic pulse that had been produced.

After positioning the _Fawkes_ in a stable orbit and making sure the ship was still pressurized in the primary compartments such as the bridge or crew deck they had dispatched teams in Haz-Mat armour to scour each section for survivors. Owen and Hannah had both repeatedly attempted to gain some insight on what the teams had found and the condition of Victoria and her team; they were soon joined by Colonel Williams and Sentinel Noland once they had returned to the New Taiyuan Citadel and re-established communications.

Owen and his people were finally able to get off of the _A'Kalez_ while the Alliance took possession of the vessel. Meanwhile the Turian fleet was corralled into orbit over Shanxi's moon and were kept under watch while the Alliance worked on assessing the full damage done to Shanxi and New Taiyuan, an ordeal that would leave the Turians stuck for hours. In the meantime more ships flowed in through the relay with disaster relief supplies and additional ground troops to secure the Turian ground forces stuck planet side.

There had been a few incidents with Turians refusing to surrender, but these were quickly handled by Turian officers who swiftly put their subordinates in place before the situation could escalate and give the Alliance an excuse to start shooting. So far the Turian base camp was only just now being occupied by Alliance marines and Brotherhood of Steel troops disarming tens of thousands of soldiers.

Down below the position which the _Fawkes_ was being held it one could still view the aftermath of the air burst that had rocked New Taiyuan. A large circle of clear sky still existed, filled with the minimal amounts of radioactive material that were even now being diluted and spread out by natural weather patterns. Despite this the Alliance still took the appropriate measures of arming any disaster relief teams with Haz-Mat equipment and followed Fallout Protocol to the letter. The populace of Shanxi's capital were forced to remain underground for the time being until it could be verified that there was no risk of severe contamination within the city limits.

And amidst this Owen could only care about the condition of the three souls he had sent aboard the _Chairman_ as he watched the airlock doors that led to the _Fawkes_ , which was connected to the Alliance Carrier _Einstein._ The remaining members of the original boarding team, minus Harper and his rangers, were with him along with Hannah, who had been given the shock of finding out that she had a niece who was already grown up. Needless to say Alex would have a lot of explaining to do when he arrived in the next wave of reinforcements.

"Is she like Jo?" Hannah asked, breaking the silence shared between the four of them as they waited for the airlock to open.

Owen nodded. "All too much, and she's also got a bit of my dad in her too. She's a real fighter...I know they'd both be proud to see her."

'They' were of course Logan Mason and Alice Shepard.

"I'm more worried about Nathan, to be honest." Rice admitted, now wearing a clean set of Brotherhood fatigues. "He's a lot more reckless and...injury prone than Vic."

"And knowing him he'll have the biggest smile when they carry him through there." Owen countered, "The man may be a moron but he's too tough to let a little radiation or turbulence kill him."

The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a team of medics pushing several hovering gurneys towards the airlock entrance. The doors opened to reveal the armoured forms of the Haz-Mat team carrying shapes clad in badly damaged black armour on stretchers.

"Victoria!" Owen shouted upon seeing her being set on a gurney, but was stopped from approaching by one of the Haz-Mat soldiers.

"Sir, they're all in need of extensive treatment right now." The man said firmly, "I'm sorry but you need to step aside now!"

Owen hesitantly obeyed and watched as Nathan, whose head was coated in blood all along the back was transferred to a second gurney. Compared to him Victoria appeared to have gotten off easy in terms of how badly wounded she was, but when Owen saw Jane however he knew immediately that no form of surgery would save the Ghoul, whose head was cracked open like an egg in addition to her arm being torn off.

"Command this is Hazard-One, the ship is clear and we have two Xenos on board." The Haz-Mat squad leader said aloud into his radio, "One in critical condition, one deceased. I have a fire team keeping the survivor stable and they need a sealed medical capsule and any information pertaining to the physiology of these...Turians if you want it to stay breathing."

As the gurneys were ferried away Owen was left standing in the middle of the open airlock, left to watch as the soldiers he had been in charge of were carried away in varying conditions of injury. Jane was gone and there was no telling if Nate and Victoria would be joining her...and the idea of either of the two dying made him want to break down right in the middle of the room.

"...I failed Alex," Owen whispered, "I failed him and Jo."

Hannah wrapped her arms around Owen. "You did no such thing, Owen Mason." She shook her head. "She'll be alright."

Rice had collapsed back into the chair he'd been occupying when he saw Jane's condition. He'd taken no more time than Owen had to deduce that he would never again hear the rough and blunt humor of the Ghoul Inquisitor. The Knight bowed his head and whispered a prayer, wishing Jane Parker a safe journey to a well deserved paradise.

Xxx

 **Turian Cruiser** _ **Valor**_

 **Captain's Quarters**

 **1045 Hours**

When Hen'ar found Admiral Pridius he had already downed half of a bottle of brandy. The commanding officer of the Third Fleet had disassembled his armour and was now just wearing the innermost layer of clothing Turian soldiers were permitted when off duty on board a military vessel. He was slouched in a chair with a data pad in one hand and an open bottle in the other.

Hen'ar approached him carefully. "Sir?"

"At ease."

She had not been saluting him to begin with.

"Sir...the Alliance commanding officers have informed us that they have received orders from their superiors." Hen'ar informed him, "They will begin relocating crews down to the surface to our initial landing site once they have cleared it of any heavy weaponry, and will allow us to maintain skeleton crews on each vessel to maintain a stable orbit. They will also allow us to retain small arms and air craft for the purpose of maintaining order among the camp."

"But they'll be keeping no less than twenty primary guns locked on the base camp to ensure the good behaviour of these crews and anyone groundside who might feel tempted to make a break for it or cause trouble." Kravos tossed her the data pad, which contained the same data package which she had received mere minutes ago from the Alliance flagship. "I'm not _that_ drunk, Lieutenant. I still keep track of incoming transmissions addressed to me."

"I...did not mean to imply-"

"Oh don't worry about it." Kravos pushed himself to his feet and set the bottle on his desk. "There is an increasing likelihood that after this you'll never have to speak respectfully to me again."

He didn't require any assistance in pulling his officer's jacket on or stepping outside with her.

"Sir...none of the crew blame you." Hen'ar told him, keeping pace with Kravos. "They all know that you were forced into a tough position because of Trisun and Arterius."

"And the Hierarchs will care about as much as I do about their opinions." Kravos replied, "To them I'll be the one in the wrong because they won't have anybody else to string up. Desolas is dead...Trisun is dead, Saren is a rising star who they'll want to cast in a sympathetic light and I'm the highest ranking member of the whole task force still alive. And what do I have to show? A complete breakdown in command, Hierarchy ships firing on one another for the first time in centuries followed by a sound defeat at the hands of what should have been a race of primitives."

They stopped at a viewport which had been uncovered now that the battle was over. From there they could see Shanxi above, the _Valor_ having been oriented in a way that made the world appear to hang over the cruiser from their perspective. Other ships of the Hierarchy could be seen close by, many of them sporting damage from friendly fire.

"Why did I have to care at all about them?" Kravos wondered aloud as he leaned on the railing in front of the window. "If I'd just stuck with Desolas' plan and stopped the humans from blowing the station I could have gone home and the Hierarchy would have put a spin on it to make me look like a damn war hero. But no, I had to grow a conscience and start thinking too much about what was right and wrong."

He looked at Hen'ar. "I don't even know who to be angry with anymore. Desolas...Trisun...this 'Alliance' or me."

"It should be Desolas then, with Trisun in second." Hen'ar insisted, "You were just following orders and they turned this into a civil war right on the front lines. Even worse, they pulled you into it and didn't have the decency to stay alive long enough to receive the punishment."

She reached over and grasped one of his hands.

"You know that every person on this ship would gladly fight the Hierarchy for you after all you've done today." Hen'ar continued, "You may not have conquered a planet, but you did something better. You helped stop a war. Don't let them tell you to feel ashamed for that."

"I'll remember that," Kravos nodded, "And I'll make sure to tell them right up until I'm in front of the firing squad."

He felt Hen'ar wrap her arms around him, one around his back and under his arm and the other across his chest and up to rest a hand on his shoulder. Kravos couldn't stop himself from leaning into her and letting her embrace him, or from disregarding how many regulations they'd be breaking right now. The weight of his decisions and experiences in the past week bore down on him and only Hen'ar's support, both physical and emotional kept him from breaking down on the spot.

Less than a week ago he had been a minor but promising Captain of a patrol group with a promising future. Now he was an Admiral with no future at all, but the most stressful part of the situation was the knowledge that when he went down so would many other good people who hadn't been anywhere near Shanxi. His family, various Turians who sponsored his promotions over the years, previous unit and battle group commanders and crew members who would somehow be tied to his actions, their families...he was Ground Zero for an explosion that would ripple outward and destroy the lives of hundreds.

Their collective pain and suffering would be Kravos' true punishment for not being a by-the-book soldier and thinking with his heart.

 _Good soldiers follow orders, great soldiers refuse bad orders._

He could carry that phrase with him to the execution grounds on Palaven.

Xxx

 **Skyllian Verge, Unknown Location**

In a debris field circling an aged red star, a gargantuan form began to shift. Mass effect fields that had long held it in a steady orbit pushed debris out of its path as the form began to pull out of the endless rotation of the asteroid belt.

" _ **He has failed.**_ "

Locking onto the nearest mass relay, the colossal being reached out through space and time, transmitting data throughout the relay network and receiving it at speeds that would contradict humanity's understanding of transmitting data across vast distances. It was unable to control the relays as it once could have, but it was still able to acquire navigational data on any active relays attached to the network utilized by this cycle's latest civilization.

" _ **These interlopers threaten the parameters of the cycle. Action must be taken.**_ "

It began to move towards the relay, taking its time as it deduced the most efficient place to begin its task...and the most suitable beings to make use of. When it came to a conclusion on where to begin it sent out a cry across the void, bending space-time to its will as it emitted a call that would ripple across many light years. This ripple would touch many worlds and be perceived by tens of billions of beings, only a few of whom would be able to comprehend what it really was. It was not something that could be perceived by machines, only heard through the minds of living beings, and only a rare few who could interpret it into what it was meant to be.

They would see a galaxy in flames, chaos rampant and corrupting everything it touched. Then they would perceive a flood of darkness from the edges, consuming whole stars until everything was silenced, cleansed from the cosmos.

And they would hear three words to accompany this vision.

" _ **It is TIME.**_ "

Xxx

End of Chapter

And...there we have it folks. The Shanxi Insurgency is now over, and the Systems Alliance has claimed victory over a disorganized and weakened Turian Hierarchy, but there have been losses on both sides and distant events have been set into motion as a result.

 **CODEX OPENED**

 **Accessing Files...**

 **Files Opened: The First Contact War (Aftermath)**

 **Once the Systems Alliance and Brotherhood of Steel joint taskforce finished securing the Shanxi system against further incursions on March 15** **th** **, 2353, their first duty was to see to the condition of New Taiyuan, which was afflicted by light amounts of radiation which were easily countered with Rad-X and Radaway treatments that reduced any risk of mutation or radiation sickness among the population. Ghouls and Super Mutants were dispatched in Search & Rescue operations to evacuate Alliance citizens, and later were ordered to round up any stranded Turian units. This resulted in isolated firefights generated by a communication failure among the Hierarchy forces present on Shanxi, but casualties were minimized and Turian soldiers were returned to their base camp and were treated by their medical officers for mild irradiation that their physiology was suitable for resisting.**

 **Inquisitor Victoria Grey (later identified as Victoria Mason) and Alliance Marine Sergeant Nathan Campbell were both treated for severe injuries aboard the ASV** _ **Einstein**_ **and stabilized. Inquisitor Jane Parker would later be granted a post-mortem promotion and a number of awards for her involvement in the sabotage of the** _ **Chairman Benny**_ **and General Desolas Arterius' plan. The rest of Owen Mason's strike team would face similar praise and honors but would refuse public appearances even when under pressure by Alliance Command before the Brotherhood of Steel's High Inquisitor Jason Maxson used his authority to end this matter and allow the team some measure of peace and solitude.**

 **Admiral Kravos Pridius remained aboard the cruiser** _ **Valor**_ **and oversaw the evacuation of crews from the Turian fleet, ensuring that his subordinates complied with the Systems Alliance. Back in Sol the Alliance Parliament as well as the Brotherhood of Steel's Council of Elders debated on what to do with the Turian prisoners of war. Some advocated slaughtering them to the last-though thankfully this category was limited to representatives of developing communities who lacked the power to authorize such a travesty; others argued that based on the information gathered by Owen Mason during the Battle of Shanxi it would be prudent to attempt to open up communications with the Citadel Council before they could send more fleets after the first.**

 **President Gregory Irons came to a decision on March 18** **th** **to establish a line of communication with the Citadel Council and the Turian Hierarchy in order to prevent further hostilities. Pro-war parties were silenced when they were informed of how vast the military and industrial capacity of the Turian Hierarchy was, and that the circumstances leading to an Alliance victory in Shanxi had been due to an internal conflict among the Turian chain of command. It was estimated that any attempt at retaliation against the Turian Hierarchy would invite a much larger and better organized assault that would overcome the Alliance Navy in a matter of days or weeks, and that was only when assuming that only the Turians would retaliate.**

 **Irons concocted a plan to quickly establish contact with the Council by dispatching one of the rare Zeta Class mother ships, which would tow a single Turian ship from Shanxi through FTL to a point close to the Serpent Nebula where the Citadel itself lay. Admiral Pridius as well as General Septimus Oraka would be on board this vessel to provide their testimony to the Council while Colonel Victus would remain on Shanxi to oversee the Turian population there.**

 **The Alliance would maintain an orbital and aerial perimeter around the Turian base camp in order to ensure that no Turian would be able to leave by ground or air, and to prevent the construction of anti-air artillery or other heavy armaments that would enable an offensive against New Taiyuan. However it was on Sentinel Noland's advice that the Alliance did not move to relocate the Turians to a detention facility under the belief that to do so would incite further resistance among the Turian landing force, and that contacting their leaders to bring about an end to the conflict would be more preferable. When arguments were made against allowing the turians to retain their base camp, vehicles, weapons and supplies Noland would calmly point out that the Turians would be unable to mount any offensive against New Taiyuan or attempt to escape Shanxi without their camp being bombarded, and that relocating them would mean having to provide for them in the event that negotiations with the Council were drawn out for weeks or months, and the Alliance lacked any worlds that could provide food sustenance for the Turians' unique dextro amino based physiology. Leaving the Turians on Shanxi with access to their own dextro amino acid based food supplies and under heavy guard would prove to be the most cost effective and least risky move for the Alliance to make.**

 **The Turian cruiser** _ **Valor**_ **would be selected to return to Citadel space, carried along by the Zeta Class mothership** _ **Zeta**_ **, the original Prolat star ship captured by Logan Mason and part of the Brotherhood of Steel's 1** **st** **Flotilla. It would depart from Shanxi on March 19** **th** **and be deposited by the** _ **Zeta**_ **in a Relay Cluster system on the edge of Inner Council Space close to an FTL relay that would allow for the first official negotiations between the Alliance and Council to begin mere hours after the Citadel Council came to the decision to censor Desolas Arterius and dispatch ships to retrieve the Turian Hierarchy's Third Fleet, unaware that the battle was already over.**

 **File Closed**

 **Opening File...**

 **File Opened: What happened to Desolas Arterius?**

 **Official reports state that General Desolas Arterius was killed in action in orbit over Shanxi aboard the human frigate ASV** _ **Fawkes**_ **, however his body allegedly vanished. When the Turian Hierarchy attempted to claim it the Alliance claimed that the General's body was missing. Nathan Campbell stepped forward several months after the Battle of Shanxi to claim that after killing Desolas Arterius he had 'flushed that bastard out an air lock'. For years there would be rumors ranging from Desolas' body being withheld by the Alliance to the General actually being alive, but Saren Arterius would go on record and claim that Campbell had lied to the public and that his brother's body was being held by the Alliance.**

 **File Closed**

 **Opening File...**

 **File Opened: Saren Arterius**

 **Saren Arterius is the second child of the Arterius family next to his brother, the disgraced General Desolas Arterius. During his early military career Saren was identified as a fully capable Biotic and assigned to the Turian Cabal divisions, but would still manage to excel thanks to his brother's influence. By the time of the Battle of Shanxi Saren was considered one of the best in his division and was considered for Spectre status, and after the Battle of Shanxi when he was cleared of all charges regarding his brother's actions he was granted full Spectre status. He is known for his public statements condemning the Systems Alliance and for being one of the most efficient and ruthless members of the Council Special Tactics & Reconnaissance, and also for being one of the few Turian Biotics to achieve such a respectable rank.**

And...I think that I'll skip the summary for this chapter since it was fairly straight forward. The next Arc, First Contact, will be up soon.


	18. Chapter 17: First Contact Part 1

The Cosmic Age

 _Long after the defeat of Caesar's Legion and the liberation of New Vegas, the Courier and Lone Wanderer make use of the Theta Technology to bring humanity back from the edge of extinction and take to the stars. When they reach too far they discover that the galaxy is not always receptive to the adventurous._

I do not own Fallout or Mass Effect

Also, for anybody who is sick to death of stories where the Council is incompetent/evil/out of character/childish/any sort of combination of those things...this is for you.

Also, I will be taking SOME liberties with material from both Mass Effect and Fallout.

Now, this Arc, the First Contact Arc, will focus on the initial diplomatic meetings between the Council and the Alliance and their reactions to one another as they learn more about each other's histories. I don't intend to make it some sort of one sided debate where the Council gets talked down for every single perceivable action in the past and then expects the Alliance to join up with them like nothing happened. In fact they will expect the Alliance to outright refuse the idea of joining the Council as a client race and attempt to be more diplomatic.

And rather than jumping to Mass Effect 1 after this, I intend to explore the early adult years of our main hero: John Shepard. I have already decided to make him a Vanguard in this and to provide him with plenty of adventures that will allow me to squeeze in features from all three of the different origins from the games as well as the three career paths.

Anywho, with that out of the way let's get to the part you really came here for.

Xxx

 **Chapter Seventeen: First Contact, The Conquering Heroes**

 **Shanxi System, Shanxi, high orbit**

 **ASV** _ **Einstein,**_ **Medical Bay**

 **March 17** **th** **, 2353**

Owen stood in the hallway outside of the _Einstein's_ infirmary, peering in through the open door at the group gathered around one of the beds at the far end of the room. He'd taken the opportunity to shave and prepare himself for this moment, determined to appear as a proper Captain for the first time since the 314 Skirmish. He was back in his old cleanly pressed and smooth Captain's uniform and had gotten plentiful bed rest, sleeping for almost a whole day the moment he'd hit the cot issued to him, removing any indication of bloodshot or fatigued eyes.

The events leading up to this seemed to be an entire life time ago now, like a fading nightmare that he'd woken from. But now he had a new challenge before him and found himself rooted in place until Hannah stopped next to him and nudged him with one elbow.

"Well? What are you waiting for," She said encouragingly. "Go on in."

Sucking in a breath, Owen nodded and stepped through the door with his head held high. As if his arrival had somehow been broadcasted the gathered individuals turned and straightened up, save for the one sitting upright in bed.

Paladin Grawk, freshly recovered from his injuries grinned and slammed one fist into his chest as he gave Owen the equivalent of a Super Mutant salute. Edward stepped out from behind the Night Kin's huge form and quickly stood at attention while Nathan, who was sitting in a wheelchair offered a salute of his own.

Victoria looked up as Owen made it halfway to her bed and smiled at the sight of her uncle, an expression that Owen found to be infectious as a grin spread across his face...

Until he saw the final member of the gathering stand up and look back at him with a face that matched his own.

"Owen!" Alexander Mason, the first born of Logan and Sarah Mason and the Lion of Sol stepped around the others, revealing that instead of power armour he wore formal Brotherhood garments.

Immediately Nathan, Edward, Grawk and Victoria's faced paled as the smile fell from Owen's face.

"Dad?" Victoria reached out and tried to stop Alex.

"Mr Mason, wait!" Edward blurted out...

But it was too late.

THWACK!

THUD!

Alex landed on his back, blood spilling from his nose as his head spun. Standing over the fallen Inquisitor, Owen flexed his bloodied hand and then pointed down at his older brother.

"You smarmy piece of shit!" He bellowed. "You have some god damn nerve showing up here after the week of pure, unadulterated Hell I've had to go through to keep your little girl breathing! I've been shot at, beaten, stabbed, blown up and most of all I've been forced to make cheesy leadership speeches and take after dad!"

Owen reached down and gripped Alex by the collar of his jacket. "And you just...smile and greet me like nothing happened?!" He shouted, causing Alex to cringe.

"Owen I-"

"SHUT! UP!"

Alex clamped his mouth shut.

"Now...before I make you curse our parents for not keeping it in their pants one more time," Owen hissed, "How...many...other...kids?"

"What?"

"How many others do you have?!" Owen demanded, shaking Alex. "Because I swear to Death Claw Christ himself if you have been hiding more kids from me just so they can pop up in the middle of a god damn warzone I will wring your fucking neck right now so you can explain yourself to mom and dad in person! NOW ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

"I only have one child!" Alex answered, trying to placate his younger and usually more level headed sibling.

"He's telling the truth!" Victoria added while Nathan and Edward moved to try and separate the two brothers. "I'm an only child!"

Releasing his grip on Alex, Owen shoved Nathan and Edward back and stood up. He continued to bore into Alex's head with his glare, his fists clenching so tightly that he almost bled from his palms before allowing his body to relax.

"Alex...I don't know if I can ever forgive this." Owen said calmly, "You lied to me for over twenty years, you lied to Hannah, you kept Victoria secret from her own family. I know that what you did was with good reason but that doesn't change the fact that my own brother didn't trust me with the knowledge that he had a daughter with Joanna, who was like a sister to me in every way that mattered."

He pointed at Victoria. "She's more than just Jo's daughter or some last remaining piece of her Alex, she's my god damn niece and I missed an entire lifetime with her. Now after this you're going to introduce Victoria to her cousin John and then we are going to stop with all of this 'secrets among family' crap." Owen now pointed down at Alex. "And if you ever lie to me again you will be _dead_ to me and then you'll _actually_ be six feet under. Do you understand me?"

Fear gave way to resignation as Alex nodded. "I understand, Owen, and I'm sorry." He replied, "When Manifest began to target both of our families Jo and I...we just couldn't stomach the idea of our daughter being put through such an ordeal. We hoped to keep her hidden until she was grown up, but when Jo died all that fear came back to me." He sat up. "I made the choice to keep Vic hidden even when I should have known that it wouldn't have mattered in the long run, that all I'd do is make things worse for us all. I lied to you, to everyone close to us, and I cost my daughter so much even when I was trying to protect her."

Alex shut his eyes and tilted his head down in shame. "I promise you: no more secrets, no more lies." He vowed.

The infirmary was dead silent. Victoria looked at her father with concern evident in her eyes, and when she made to climb out of bed Nathan set a hand on her shoulder. He shook his head and eased her back down so her head was resting against her pillow.

Alex felt something lightly tap against his head three times as if someone were knocking on it a door. He looked up as Owen withdrew his fist and extended it as an open hand.

"Good." Owen declared. "Now get up and stop sounding sappy, I do enough of that these days for the both of us and I don't want Victoria catching it."

He pulled Alex to his feet and straightened out his older brother's coat.

"I'm taking your word that you'll never be so foolish as to repeat this, and while your word will be suspect from now on I am giving you a fair chance because in spite of how much you've stabbed me and Hannah in the back with this you did it for the right reasons. This is your chance to make us trust you again, Alex." Owen explained himself. "Don't disappoint me or I'll knock your jaw off."

Patting Alex on the arm, Owen stepped past him, walked towards the shell shocked group surrounding Victoria's bed and pulled up a chair.

"So," Owen smiled. "Feeling better, kiddo?"

Xxx

 **Sol System, Luna**

 **Aldrin Command Bunker**

 **March 16** **th** **, 2353**

"They almost caused the destruction of the entire Shanxi colony! Why are we even debating on this?!"

President Irons rubbed the bridge of his nose and fought down a resurgent headache as one of the more vocal members of the Alliance Admiralty voiced her opinion on the Alliance Security Council's latest topic: what to do with the tens of thousands of Turian prisoners of war now stranded on Shanxi.

"These aliens marched into Alliance space with the intent of subjugating or annihilating us! The reports corroborate this as well as data taken from Turian databases!" Rear Admiral Sanders held up a data pad while strolling through the circular heart of the council chamber. "They moved a force of over a hundred warships into sovereign Alliance territory and dared to set foot on Alliance soil with intent to conquer. One of their own almost caused the destruction of New Taiyuan! We cannot allow this to be forgiven!"

From among the many spectators one stood up and called out. "And what would you have us do, Admiral Sanders? The evidence provided by Captain Mason supports the claim that the actions of General Arterius were not condoned or sponsored by the Turian Hierarchy or this Citadel Council."

"That just makes it all the more condemning!" Sanders countered. "This is a rogue fleet that forced its way into our territory, a rogue army that has the blood of thousands of good men and women on their hands! We need to make an example to this galactic community to ensure that such future attacks are averted! Let them see what becomes of pirates and renegades who would violate our borders!"

Irons lowered his hand and sighed. "Admiral, while I applaud your enthusiasm for making a statement to this council, what you propose is the wrong kind of statement."

Sanders hurried over to Irons' desk. "Mr President-" He stopped when Irons raised one hand.

"I agree that this act cannot go unpunished, but as of the moment we first encountered the Turian Hierarchy we were placed in a precarious position that has no room for sudden and impulsive action the likes of which you propose." Irons said calmly, speaking clearly so all could understand him. "In your proposal you have listed the execution of Turian flag officers and field commanders as one potential course of action. As another you go as far as to propose we bombard the Turian encampment. All of your recommendations are accompanied by a strategy to seal our borders and implement an increase in fleet production and the positioning of gun emplacements near each mass relay. Had the destruction of New Taiyuan come to pass I admit that I would be in a state to consider these avenues, but the fact of the matter is that that very atrocity was averted and the Turian army and fleet which now lay at our mercy are victim of the ambition and madness of one rogue officer."

Rising from his desk, Irons stepped down and past Sanders.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Security Council, we simply cannot afford to burn the bridge which the turians have crossed." He stated, "We are aware that General Desolas Arterius was denied further reinforcements from his superiors, and have the proof of that sitting right in front of us. This fact indicates that the wider galactic community may not be supportive of what the General undertook and could view us in a sympathetic light should we come forward."

Several delegates exchanged low murmurs amongst themselves, but Irons was able to deduce that his words had not failed to reach them. Once passion as tempered by reason and logic it became much easier for cooler heads to prevail in situations like this; outrage and moral indignation, while understandable in the present circumstances, had no place in the world of politics. Irons had run the Alliance like a business even when many criticized him for seeming apathetic or robotic, once even going as far as to accuse him of being a Synthetic infiltrator, but the results of his arbitration between the rebuilt nations of Earth and its few colonies could not be argued against. Now he had to apply this to a much greater interstellar level to ensure that some fool didn't get the Alliance on the bad side of more than one alien species.

"However if we commit the wholesale slaughter of prisoners who have surrendered to us we show ourselves as violent and merciless to those who should be afforded mercy, and if these Turians were humans or any other species in the Alliance we would be heeding the New Vegas Accords in deciding how to deal with them." Irons continued, straightening his tie and smoothing out his jacket without missing a beat or stopping in the circular pattern he walked around the room in. "If we were to satisfy ourselves with the blood of these soldiers the Alliance would be cast as a brutal and blood thirsty collective that would sooner seek senseless death over negotiation. In walking this path we would be alienating ourselves from a wider galaxy and leaving ourselves cut off from potential allies and resources that could assist in hastening the reconstruction of our society."

"With that in mind, I have come to the following decision." Irons turned and faced Sanders as he said this, as though personally addressing the Admiral's earlier statements. "The Turian prisoners of war on Shanxi shall not be harmed so long as they maintain their rhythm of behaviour for the duration of their stay. This shall apply to all, regardless of rank or involvement in the events at Shanxi. We shall confine them to their present location and maintain a vigilant watch to ensure their continued cooperation, and in the meantime we shall seek avenues of diplomacy."

Sanders appeared ready to protest, but a quick look around the room made it obvious that the majority of the council found President Irons' idea favorable. Quickly reigning in his outrage, the Admiral approached Irons with a softer tone and restrained demeanour.

"Mr President...you are within your rights to command this course, but I am within my own to protest it." Sanders said, carefully checking his choice of words. "The data on this Citadel Council is clear, particularly in their distribution of power. We are, as you and everyone else here know, a fragmented and reduced civilization that can barely hold a candle to any one of their races. We have less than half a billion citizens spread across several star systems and a fleet of less than five hundred operational warships against a civilization spanning thousands of star systems and numbering in the trillions. If we approach them they will envelop us, suppress us, weaken us and consume us through their own laws."

Sanders quickly tapped into his data pad.

"Genetic engineering regulations, the criminalization of creating or simply existing as an artificial intelligence, carefully monitored naval limitations on high tonnage warships to ensure that the Council remains dominant." He listed. "These are just the tip of the ice berg, sir. This Council maintains control of their client races and ensures that the three dominant species in their loose coalition remain the strongest in the known galaxy at the cost of other nations. They will _suffocate_ us with the very thing we have been seeking ever since the bombs first dropped back on Earth: order."

Another of the Security Council, this one a member of the Brotherhood of Steel's 1st Flotilla, took this opportunity to join the conversation. "Admiral Sanders may bear a point, Mr President, and I have my own concerns to voice. These Citadel species, while by no means primitive or underdeveloped by our standards are suffering from a pattern of what I would describe as 'lack of innovation'. The history logs found throughout non-classified Turian files and first contact packages show each member of the Council and its associates only achieving spaceflight by way of full integration of Mass Effect technology salvaged from the ruins of the extinct Protheans. They have had their own advancements of course, but where we have made use of the Mass Effect and the Mass Relays as convenient additions to our own developments these factions have made it into a crutch which they rely on."

The Brotherhood representative opened a holographic interface and used it to summon the image of Turian navigation charts spread out across the whole Galaxy.

"At first glance this Citadel Council may appear to be spread over a vast majority of the Milky Way Galaxy thanks to their use of the Mass Relays," He explained, "However, in reality they control less than one percent of the galaxy, and mainly systems that are within a hundred light years of active mass relays. And rather than exploring this network to its fullest they have pushed exploration and innovation completely to the back of their minds, more concerned with maintaining their status quo except in instances of intense conflict forcing their hand. Due to this the relay network within the region known as the Terminus Systems is more thoroughly mapped on account of the Council lacking any authority there, and even then there are potentially tens of thousands of habitable systems unaccounted for in that region alone."

"All valid concerns, I cannot deny that the Council does have a less than perfect mandate by our standards." Irons agreed, "And I have no intention of crippling the Alliance by making it subservient to any outside force. But the alternative to diplomacy is either isolation...or war against not one, but over half a dozen different nations, each with a military just as large or many times the size of our own and a technological distance that will become much smaller thanks to whatever they've salvaged from their initial skirmish at 314."

Irons gestured to the map hovering over where he stood.

"And _that_ , ladies and gentlemen, is something we could not hope to win in a thousand year." Irons shrugged, "We obviously contradict many of the Citadel Council's laws, and the Council itself possesses a checkered past which must be addressed in the foreseeable future, but their history has never had them meet anything quite like us. We embody everything they view as a threat or disturbance, and so we shall dispel that image with a display of mercy, restraint and most of all initiative."

Sitting back down at his raised desk, Irons folded his hands in front of him. "The only matter that is left to address is _who_ to send to represent us, and getting them to the Citadel before the Council comes looking for their lost fleet."

" _I was wondering when you'd get to that. You really do like to pontificate far too much, Greg._ "

A new image replaced that of the map projected in the heart of the Security Council's meeting room. It formed into the silhouette of a man clad in a rough leather jacket over battered and worn armour with the emblem of the Brotherhood of Steel on the chest plate. The man himself was not exactly the sort who drew the eyes of young women with his scarred and wrinkled complexion, messy dark hair and bear, glowing cybernetic right eye and overall rough appearance that most would label as 'ugly'...if they were brave enough to say it to this man's face.

" _If you're all done worrying, I'll take my very brief time here to offer the most useful input for Gregory's plan._ " High Inquisitor Jason Maxson propped a freshly lit cigar between his teeth...many of which were metal. " _And don't you worry, the Brotherhood of Steel won't be bowing its head to any fancy Council. If they have things to say about how we operate, I'll gladly deal with it myself._ "

Gregory raised one hand to his face and shook his head at the behaviour of one of the most revered and respected men in the Systems Alliance...one who was not quite as eloquent or inspirational as his father Arthur had been. Jason always had a way of coming off as the 'hyper violence loving, kill crazy neanderthal' sort to those who were not familiar with the real man behind that mug. It had been like that since Jason's childhood when he was bigger than all the other kids, tougher, but more of a big goofy moron than anything else. These days he put on a mask for the benefit of others, appearing as the cold, blunt and somewhat frightening High Inquisitor of the Brotherhood of Steel when Gregory's own children often rode around on Jason's shoulders at holiday gatherings.

After he lowered his hand again Gregory addressed the assembly. "I believe that we can leave this matter in the capable hands of High Inquisitor Maxson, who I trust shall follow my recommendation and avoid incurring hostilities."

Jason bared his metal teeth in a grin that had once frightened a whole group of raiders into stopping mid charge. " _No promises, Greg, but I'll see what I can do._ "

Xxx

 **Shanxi System, Shanxi, high orbit**

 **ASV** _ **Einstein**_ **, mess area**

 **March 18** **th** **, 2353**

"Ah the wonders of near limitless Stim Gel," Nathan sighed as he satdown, "I feel like I didn't get consistently rag dolled all week."

"Don't strain yourself, your muscles and bones are still recovering and Stim Gel can only do so much." Edward implored as the marine sergeant sat down across from him. "After all you've been through it's a miracle that you didn't lose any limbs along the way."

Nathan reclined in his seat and raised his feet up, propping his legs up on the table with his arms folded behind his head, "A fact which I intend to celebrate every day."

Their time spent on the _Einstein_ had allowed them to recover from the numerous 'adventures' which they had taken part in. The day after witnessing Owen punch and lecture his older brother they had held a quiet vigil for Jane Parker, standing around her coffin held in the cargo bay with a fresh bottle of wine donated by Hannah. Other guests, including Colonel Williams, Sentinel Noland and Elder Thompson had attended to speak a few kind words. Jane's involvement in the mission aboard the _Chairman_ was already widely known, as was her status as the first, last and only casualty. Many other Brotherhood and Alliance personnel would take a moment in private to hold a toast to her, and the High Inquisitor himself had seen fit to posthumously promote her as well as every other member of the Brotherhood who fell on Shanxi.

But there were some things would stick with the survivor's of Owen's team. Nathan had been required to undergo a cybernetic implantation due damage at the base of his skull and along his spinal cord from one or several impacts he suffered within the _Fawkes_ before blacking out, leaving him with an eerie and uncomfortable feeling whenever he stretched or bent down for anything. Laying down in bed had also become a challenge, not because of any pain but because it made it easier to feel parts of the implants which were just large enough to be felt through his skin, forcing him to lay down on his front.

Even just sitting in a normal chair became a painful reminder of how close to being brain dead he had been.

Victoria had come out a little better than he had, which was surprising until he considered the fact that the blade which she'd been stabbed with had cauterized the wound as fast as it had made it. Blood loss had been minimal, damage to her organs and bones had been easily repaired by Stim Gel and before he knew it Victoria had been the one pushing Nathan's wheel chair around until he was able to walk again. The actual surgery had been quick, but he still had to spend almost a full day off his feet before the doctors cleared him for walking on his own.

"You might not have lost any limbs but you can now officially call yourself a cyborg."

Victoria was standing in the doorway, leaning on one side of the frame with her arms crossed.

Nathan lowered his feet and straightened up in his chair. "Just like Janie, only I can't rip open solid steel doors with my bare hands."

"But if those cybernetics are up to spec you can carry three times the usual weight load without your power armour." Victoria pointed out, joining them at the table. "How long are they keeping you off active duty?"

"Three months, minimum." Nathan answered, "No sparring, target practice or real exercise for the first thirty days. They want to make sure these implants won't rip my spine in half by mistake."

"The odds of a malfunction happening are one in over fourteen thousand." Edward wave one hand dismissively. "And the odds of it being that fatal are even steeper. They can't keep an eye on you at all times, so if you want to do sit ups in the barracks all day long don't think anybody will care."

Victoria gave the Knight a look of surprise. "You're encouraging him to flip off the very nice doctors who held very sharp tools close to his spine and might be doing so again in the future?" She turned her head towards Nathan. "By all means go ahead, I'm sure they won't care if you come in because you pulled something and broke the priceless spinal support implant they gave you for free."

"Ah haha..." Nathan smiled sheepishly. "I think I'll just take it easy, thanks Ed."

A victorious smirk crossed Vic's face. "That's what I thought."

"So...change of topic," Edward began to tap his fingers against the table. "Any news on Zero?"

Victoria shook her head. "Not since they bundled her off into some shuttle bound for Earth. Wouldn't even let her stay to say goodbye."

"Better not find her in pieces one day or somebody up on high is going to be getting the same thing I just got." Nathan growled, pointing one thumb over his shoulder and down the back of his shirt where several metallic implants visibly stuck out through his flesh, embedded into his spine. "She might've kicked my ass when we met but she also fought right alongside us after we freed her from Manifest."

"And she'd gladly kick our asses again if somebody reprograms her to do so." Victoria replied, "But I know what you mean and I'm right next to you on that, she's one of us."

"And she's probably halfway back to Sol by now." Edward held up his Pip-Boy and opened a holo-window, showing footage of Zero being led away by Alliance marines...with an inhibitor collar to suppress her combat systems and allow them to blow her head off at a moment's notice. "Bastards treated her like a rabid animal."

"Until we know that she doesn't have hidden Manifest protocols in her designed to make her turn on us, she may as well be." Victoria replied, "I don't like it anymore than you do but the precautions are necessary."

"Yeah, necessity...I hate that word." Edward muttered before the door opened up and all three of them shot to their feet at the sight of Owen and Hannah.

"At ease," Owen said before any of them could begin to raise their hands to salute. "You're all wanted in the CIC. A few very important people need to speak with you, so come along."

Exchanging confused glances, they followed out of the mess area without a word.

Xxx

 **ASV** _ **Einstein**_ **, CIC**

"Clear the room!"

With three words Hannah had the entire room emptied out. Only her, Owen, Nathan, Edward and Victoria remained within ten seconds as crewmen abandoned their consoles and filed out. The lights then dimmed as an emitter built into the ceiling projected several figures which became clear after a moment...

" _Don't stand on station for me._ " President Gregory Irons said as Nathan, Edward and Victoria tensed up. " _Jason would never permit, and I always did like to follow his example when I can._ "

High Inquisitor Jason Maxson huffed and blew a long puff of smoke from his mouth before planting a large cigar between his metal teeth. " _Let's skip that speech you had congratulating them while we're at it, we're pressed for time as is._ "

" _Very well._ " Irons agreed. " _Inquisitor Grey...or rather, Mason, Sergeant Campbell, Knight Rice and Captain Mason. We've brought you here for two highly critical matters which I regret to say requires your presence._ "

"We're at your disposal, Mr President." Logan nodded, his hands folded behind his back. "I assume that this relates to our mission on board the Turian dreadnaught and the _Chairman_ station."

" _Quite astute, Captain._ " Admiral Kastanie Drescher nodded, " _More precisely it concerns Sergeant Campbell's encounter with General Desolas Arterius aboard your former vessel, the Fawkes, as well as your initial confrontation with the Turian fleet at Relay 314._ "

Jason gestured impatiently with one hand, moving it in a circular motion. " _We want to have our story straight about what happened for later, and you can consider this your debriefing._ "

"Understood." Owen nodded, "What information do you require?"

" _We require a detailed account of the initial skirmish, your raid into the bunker vault seized by Manifest forces and your actions against the Turian occupation force, and in that order._ " Irons answered, " _Now let me be clear: you all are some god damned heroes for what you've done, especially Inquisitor Parker, may she rest in peace. This isn't some effort by us to whitewash events and scapegoat you for anything, we just want to have our story straight, as Jason stated._ "

" _If it was that I'd be cracking some heads over here already._ " Jason growled. " _The second issue we brought you in to address is the real elephant in the room: what to do now that we know there's a whole galaxy out there that might know about us._ "

Nathan caught on to what they meant. "The Citadel Council from the stolen Turian intel?"

" _The very same, Sergeant._ " Drescher confirmed, " _High Command has been debating heavily for the last two days about it, but the decision was already made by President Irons. We intend to open up diplomatic channels with this Council and sue for peace with the Turian Hierarchy before they can send another invasion fleet._ "

" _And to that end, we need to be able to explain our version of events clearly._ " Irons said, sitting down at an invisible desk. " _And also..._ "

"You need eye witnesses to everything that happened." Edward said in a moment of realization. "You want us to go with the delegation?"

Nathan groaned. "Oh joy..."

"Mr President, sir." Victoria stepped forward. "Would it really be appropriate for us to take part in this? I mean...we have no experience in negotiating with foreign powers."

" _You aren't here for your negotiation skills, Vic._ " Jason grunted, dropping any hint of formality. " _You just need to tell the facts to us, to a camera, to anybody who asks you no matter how many times you're asked to repeat it. We're planning to use Desolas' little doomsday stunt to get some leverage on this so called Council, and we need to be able to prove that he was every bit the whack job you know he was. I don't particularly care how this Council views us, but Greg here thinks it'd be beneficial if we embarrass them by airing their dirty laundry and showing that one of their star Generals almost wiped out a whole city full of non-combatants and instigated an invasion of a foreign nation._ "

"Do we know that this Council would even care?" Edward asked.

"You read the Codex, Ed." Nathan held up his Pip-Boy, which now possessed a copy of the Codex taken from the Turian frigate _Wraith's Wing_. "The Council's about maintaining what passes for peace between their species."

" _But there are certain factors which could change that._ " Irons cautioned them. " _That is why we need you to be part of the delegation. We must appear to the galaxy as the wounded victims of an atrocity, we must appear to forgive the Turians so as to appeal to the Council's views...and we must appear to be much stronger than we really are until the Council and the Hierarchy are officially at peace with the Systems Alliance._ "

"So you need us to go to tell our heroic tale about how we defeated the mighty Desolas Arterius and stopped his evil plan so the Council sees us as the good guys." Owen crossed his arms. "The very concept of shore leave becomes mere fantasy every time I see either of you two."

" _We aren't making this decision lightly, Owen._ " Jason removed his cigar and blew another puff of smoke. " _Personally I wouldn't mind just scrapping the whole Turian fleet while recording the whole thing and then dragging it up to this Council's Citadel as one big ball of scrap metal with a note taped to it saying 'stay out of our space, assholes'...of course I'd probably return all the prisoners alive. There'd be nothing to gain by executing them except lots of hate and headaches._ "

Greg directed a look at Jason to silence him. " _Back to the matter at hand, please. This invasion will only be the beginning unless we contact the Council and broker a ceasefire. We are able to communicate adequately now thanks to the Turians' efforts at establishing a translation program, and we have navigational charts that will allow us to locate the Citadel within an astral body known as the Serpent Nebula. But our biggest boon is the highest ranking Turian POW: Admiral Kravos Pridius._ "

"I remember him," Owen said, "Admiral Trisun appointed him as her replacement."

" _And he is also the commanding officer of the battle group you encountered at Relay 314._ " Drescher revealed.

"You're kidding me." Nathan said in disbelief.

" _We appreciate the irony of that fact, Sergeant._ " Irons nodded." _The first alien since the Prolat to open fire on us turns out to be a boon. He has been most cooperative in maintaining order throughout the Turian fleet and encampment. Several groups made attempts at escaping the planet, but he put them down and has ensured that further attempts have been discouraged. But he can only police his troops for so long before something occurs that causes an escalation in violence, and the continued health of every Turian on Shanxi is vital to this mission._ "

"Which is why you want us on the actual first flight to the Citadel," Owen surmised.

" _You will not be required to take part in any actual diplomatic exchanges, but we predict that you will be required to provide testimony concerning the events in question._ " Irons explained. " _I know that you have all endured an extremely stressful and traumatic time, but the stakes surrounding this mission have forced my hand._ "

Victoria shook her head. "You don't need to apologize to us, Mr President."

"Speak for yourself." Nathan mumbled.

"We know that the security of the Alliance takes priority," Victoria continued, "And I'd gladly volunteer for this."

"Not that it would matter." Nathan added, sighing heavily. "Let's do as the High Inquisitor would and just get on with it. We won't have any choice in this anyways."

" _All in good time, Campbell._ " Jason flicked his cigar off to the side. " _But first we need to have a talk about certain details, starting with your little duel with General Arterius and why we have a corpse that's more machine than Turian._ "

Xxx

 **On board the** _ **Olympian**_

"These machines are far smaller than anything I've ever seen before, yet they appear capable of harnessing dark energy to an extent that I would have believed impossible."

The body of Desolas Arterius lay across a table within a sealed room. Over a dozen heavily armoured soldiers stood around it, weapons locked at all times as robotic arms tipped with surgical tools probed the corpse. A window overlooked the operating theater, separating four men and women from what was left of the Turian General...and whatever had been inside of him. Each of them wore a long white lab coat with patches of different colour along the sleeves and down the front: orange, green, blue and black.

"They must have been concealed within him for years, given the extent of how much organic tissue had been converted." The Man in Orange said, recording his thoughts for future reference. "Organs, bones, muscles...everything has been replaced and improved or outright repurpose, all the while maintained by microscopic machines which synthesize needed materials from elements present within the body or peripheral sources. Had Sergeant Campbell not eliminate their power source the subject likely would have regenerated and regained full functionality long before now. The machines appear to have drawn on the subject's own bio-electricity."

"But these machines have shown an amazing aptitude for quickly and efficiently synthesizing materials as well as complex mechanisms, so why would they not construct a secondary power supply for themselves?" The Woman in Green inquired.

"Perhaps that would have been too overt and easily noticed by whatever means are available to Turian medical facilities." The Man in Blue suggested. "The subject's makeup has been altered in ways that would easily be noticed now that he has expired, but I wouldn't be surprised if they provided some means of avoiding electronic detection."

"That's allegory, not fact." The Woman in Black shook her head. "A fact we do have however is that these machines appear to have been divided based on their unique function, so that may not entirely be off the table. Closer analysis may confirm or deny your suspicion."

The Man in Blue nodded, accepting his mistake. "Yes, yes, I was several steps ahead of myself. Too much excitement."

" _You can hardly be blamed, Doctor. I find this to be a most impressive development myself, one that may prove to be most beneficial to our long term goals._ "

"Cellular regeneration, element zero synthesizing capabilities, full cybernetic conversion...I can see why you would be interested in this on a personal level, sir." The Woman in Black observed, her eyes narrowing slightly.

" _You can't honestly be surprise, can you? I've made it no secret that any technological leaps which might assist me with my current condition are highly valued._ "

"And as the Director you are well within your rights to prioritize replicating this technology as long as it can be profitable to our organization as a whole." The Man in Orange quickly interrupted, sensing the direction that the discussion would take based on a very long precedent. "I second the motion that we focus on replicating this micro-robotic technology for the benefit of advancing our current research projects."

"On the condition that my division has full access to any prototypes for testing in integration with current weapon designs I shall agree to this." The Woman in Green said.

" _Request approved, Doctor._ "

"I support this proposal under the same condition."

" _All departments shall reap the benefits of this venture, and I feel that this may only be the beginning of a prosperous expansion in both our organization and the Systems Alliance. But we must be careful to ensure that those who might inconvenience us are not able to obtain the results of our efforts. Manifest has managed to escape with an alien artifact of unknown origin and capability, but what data we have from it indicates a link between it and the technology inhabiting the body of General Desolas._ "

"I've already dispatched operatives to track the frigate spotted leaving Shanxi." The Woman in Black said without tearing her gaze away from Desolas' body, which she was beginning to make a careful incision into with the instruments hovering over the corpse, cutting into one section with a laser scalpel to extract a fresh sample for later study. "General Mycroft may be crafty, but he can't hide from my department forever."

" _I look forward to news of your success, but not as much as an explanation for how Manifest somehow acquired an active model based on your proposed designs for the next generation of Combat Synths._ "

The Woman in Black froze. "...I'll conduct an internal investigation."

" _You will conduct a purge of all Synths in your department and suspend access of all other members to classified materials until I am satisfied that we are not at risk of losing vital materials to terrorists and radicals._ " The voice was more stern than before. " _The Synth Retention Bureau is treading on thin ice, doctor. If you give me reason to doubt the ability of you and your subordinates rest assured I shall not hesitate to have a discussion with the Chairman regarding your failures. Am I understood?_ "

The Woman in Black slowly inhaled as she turned and faced the source of the voice: a humanoid robot which acted as a means for interaction and communication. It mimicked the designs for the Assaultron robots of the Pre-War era, but had undergone many redesigns and improvements to make it sleeker, more efficient and most of all deadlier.

"I understand you perfectly," She said calmly, "...Director House."

For several moments the robot stared at her, its single eye boring into her face until Robert House spoke again. " _Excellent, then let us move on to the next matter at hand. I understand some of you have voiced concerns regarding Victoria Mason's dramatic appearance as well as her actions in the final hours of the invasion. I will close this topic immediately by urging every single one of you to leave her be, as well as her relatives and colleagues. We have no interest in making an enemy of a Shepard or a Mason...not when they have proven to be our most beneficial providers, albeit unintentionally._ "

"They also nearly destroyed our collective efforts many times before the Alliance was even born," The Woman in Green countered, "We cannot disregard the risk they pose to us."

" _Nor do I intend to make that mistake,_ " House agreed, " _Rest assured, I intend to maintain proper surveillance of Victoria Mason as well as her cousin Jonathan as they develop, but I will not abide any actions taken against them, be it directly or by proxy. Am I understood?_ "

"Yes Mr House."

" _With that, ladies and gentlemen, you are dismissed._ "

Xxx

 **Shanxi**

 **Turian Encampment/Containment Zone**

 **Medical Area**

Humiliated did not do justice to how the surviving Turians on Shanxi felt.

Angered at their circumstances, at being held prisoner by primitives who had violated Council Law, at being defeated or denied a quick and clean victory repeatedly...and at the man who would serve as their scapegoat.

Kravos had agreed to take an escort down to the encampment at Hen'ar's urging, knowing that there would be some among the personnel who would hold him solely responsible for their defeat and may take steps to have him 'properly punished' by their own hands. Four loyal and heavily armed Turian soldiers taken straight from his ship's security detail accompanied him while others had been spread out to keep watch on the path from the air field to the medical pre-fabs.

Where he went eyes turned towards him. Many held contempt or disappointment, others sneered and laughed, and some directed silent pity towards the newly minted flag officer as he stopped in front of a two story structure that now housed dozens of wounded Turians in need of extensive surgical care.

A medical officer greeted Kravos with a salute. "Sir!"

"Is he awake?"

The officer nodded. "We...had to strap him down sir."

Kravos nodded. "I'll see him alone."

"Sir, with respect I advise against that."

"Your advice is noted and appreciated, doctor." Kravos stepped inside, "But I need this as much as he does."

The first floor was lined with cots where soldiers slept or quietly ate or read as they awaited clearance to return to their barracks. Some acknowledged his entry as he passed them on his way to the stairs.

The second floor was practically abandoned, empty save for two guards standing at a door which led to a separate section of the level.

"How is he?" Kravos asked as he stopped before them.

"He stopped making noise several hours ago now, sir." One of the guards answered, "We have a supply of anaesthetic on hand in case he presents a risk to himself again. The Doc said he'd sent you the code to gas the room with a single command from your Omni-Tool."

"Indeed he did," Kravos nodded, "Thank you both, you can step aside now."

They shared the same opinion as the doctor but remained silent as they stepped aside and allowed Kravos to unlock and open the door to a room with three beds. Two of these beds were empty, but the third had a form strapped down to it.

The sole occupant of the room slowly turned his head and glared at Kravos.

"Traitor." Saren Arterius hissed.

Kravos sighed and stepped into the room, sealing the door behind him. "Good morning, Saren. You'll be pleased to know that your brother has saved your life once again. Thanks to his connections in the Hierarchy the humans have agreed to forget your involvement in the interests of seeking peace-"

"Peace?" Saren scoffed. "Because of you there will be no true peace. We've been humiliated, defeated by upstarts! Taken prisoner and left at the mercy of savages!"

"I tried everything to keep it from coming to this, Saren. Your brother-"

"Was right!" Saren cut him off and tried to sit up without success. "He was right. About these people, about this whole mission! And about you and that bare face Trisun!"

For a moment Kravos almost snapped at the young soldier, but restrained himself from losing his composure. He took a deep breath and counted very quickly to ten before seating himself next to Saren's bed, keeping just out of reach of any talons.

"That's grief talking, Saren, not the soldier." Kravos shook his head. "You know as well as I do that your brother tried to kill an entire city to make sure we would remain committed to this fight, the fight he sought."

Saren turned away from Kravos, his eyes falling on the stump covered in thick white padding to show what remained of his severed arm. For a moment he felt the cold sting of the human blade that had cut through his elbow, rekindling his outrage.

"He wasn't wrong." Saren insisted, "He saw the future the way others refused to, he saw the threat before him and moved to eliminate it."

"What threat, Saren?" Kravos demanded. "What threat? Thousands of people hunkered down, waiting with prayers that they wouldn't be killed alongside their families and friends? For Spirits' sake Saren you can't possibly justify what he tried to do! It was barbaric, it was monstrous, it was-"

He caught himself as he realized that he'd just lost control in spite of his own efforts to keep his emotions contained. Kravos tried to rein them in and begin anew.

"There was nothing honorable about it," He stated firmly, defending his point. "I know that you want to defend your brother, defend his honour and his reputation, but we all know what he did and what he intended. He was mad, Saren...I don't know how or when but Desolas lost his mind and almost had us committed to a war for it."

Saren turned back over and growled, straining against his bonds. "Who is the mad man here, Pridius?! You know what these people have done to themselves and what they can do unless restrained. He knew that and you're cuddling up to these savages, defending them even!"

"And what right would we really have to restrain these people on the basis of what they _could_ do?" Kravos retorted, outwardly betraying no emotion beyond disappointment. "The Asari are a race of natural Biotics who could have taken over the galaxy thousands of years ago if they'd felt inclined."

Kravos opened his Omni-Tool and examined Saren's vitals, but continued talking without pause. "The Salarians are masters of espionage who no doubt have infiltrated the Hierarchy a million times, while the Quarians possess the largest fleet in the galaxy and are a logistical nightmare to keep track of."

Sifting through layers of data, Kravos saw that Saren's severed arm had been left aboard the human station before it exploded. This meant that the young soldier would either require a cloned replacement or a prosthetic.

"The Batarians have proven themselves unreasonable and narrow sighted and the Krogan have proven to be even worse to the point that if the Genophage was magically cured today the first thing they'd do tomorrow is go back to throwing meteors at us for no reason other than wounded pride." Kravos concluded, raising his eyes from the medical data. "So what makes these people special in any way that would require us to subjugate them by force of arms as your brother tried to do?"

Saren glared up at the ceiling. "You need to ask that? You've seen everything I have, you know that these primitives are dangerous!"

Kravos leaned back slowly in his chair, pondering his next response.

"...not nearly as much as the Turian Hierarchy."

This statement genuinely surprised Saren. "What?"

"In all of the known galaxy I don't think I've ever seen a species more reckless, self righteous, vindictive and dangerous than a Turian." Kravos said, "Do you know why we are the biggest threat to the galaxy?"

He leaned in closely and whispered his answer.

"Because we spawn people like your brother all the time, then we call them heroes and make them leaders." Kravos retreated. "And when they get away with slaughtering innocents we pin more medals on them and paint them as good people. But your brother was not a good person Saren, you've seen everything that he's done, you know how many war crimes were swept under the rug. It's because of people like your brother that the Turian Hierarchy is the greatest danger to civilization: it's proof that we're just like the Krogan, only we hide our blood lust by preaching of duty and honor."

The Admiral shook his head. "Ironically it was the very madness that your brother caused which showed me this truth, allowed me to witness it firsthand. When I saw Turians killing their fellow soldiers at one man's behest it made me realize the one difference between us and the Krogan of old."

Kravos slid his seat back and stood up, straightening out his officer's coat. "We're better at _pretending_ that we're not savages, and your brother was the best out of all of us at putting on a good show right up until the end."

As Kravos turned and left he expected Saren to rage and shout, to struggle to escape his bed. But the young soldier remained silent and immobile until the door slid shut and left him alone with his thoughts...

And that voice...

 _ **He lies...**_

Xxx

 **Turian Cruiser** _ **Valor**_

 **Captain's Quarters**

 **Several hours later**

"You can't possibly be serious."

Meeting with Saren was not to be the end of today's festivities for Kravos, who found himself speaking to the designated leader of humanity. He would have felt charmed under any other circumstance, but given what the reality of his situation was he couldn't feel any less flattered to have the attention of so many important politicians.

" _I assure you, Admiral Pridius, I am completely serious._ " President Irons affirmed, " _A simple delegation on its own may not be enough to bring an end to any further plans that_ _your government may have in regards to the Alliance. We need someone from outside our sphere of influence who can speak on our behalf._ "

"And your brilliant master strategy is to release your most valuable prisoner?" Kravos refrained from reaching for another bottle of brandy, if only to cling to his last ounce of decency as long as he could. "Mr President, as honored as I am to be conversing with the leader of not one but four different species- five if you count your synthetics, I've had a very long week and I don't know if I have the constitution for anymore big news like this...strategy you're pitching to me."

" _We have read over the files detailing the events from the 314 Skirmish to your invasion of Shanxi._ " Irons said, " _Your translation index made it quite easy to acquire all of the facts regarding your part in this travesty, which is why we feel you can be trusted._ "

High Inquisitor Maxson huffed. " _I don't know if we should bother. He might not be human but I swear I can smell the alcohol just by looking at his posture. You've been drinking heavily, and it's affecting your composure. I don't think we'd want a drunkard speaking for us._ "

"Congratulations on the observation of the millennia, human." Kravos sighed, "But if there is one thing my species can beat yours in it'll be endurance, and it takes far more than a single bottle to intoxicate me. However, if I'd known that you'd be calling me again so soon for such a _vastly_ important topic I might have refrained from imbibing just a little longer."

" _I think we can forgive that,_ " Irons said, the frown on his face indicating that he at least would not forget Kravos' behaviour. " _Admiral, we know that you opposed the decision to invade our territory right from the moment you realized that things weren't so black and white. We also are aware of the fact that you sided against General Arterius in the end. While these actions alone would not usually gain you too many favors, when I compared your conduct to the files on Turian culture taken from your computers it became easier to see why you can be trusted._ "

"So tell me then: just why am I apparently so trusted?"

" _Because you're too honorable for your own good, and you care more about preserving lives than ending them._ "

Kravos' looked away and muttered. "Lucky guess."

" _If you were to stand before your leaders right now, what would you tell them about the events at Shanxi?_ "

"Probably start by throwing Desolas and Trisun under the Tomkah and pray that I won't be joining them there." Kravos shrugged. "I don't know much about your people but I'd assume that the notion of being forced to clean up somebody else's mess and bear their consequences is universally frowned upon."

" _Heh, starting to like this one's sense of humour._ " Jason snickered, " _You're worried that you'll be strung up and hung to dry for the fight these two got into, am I right?_ "

Kravos threw any restraint to the wind and picked up an unopened bottle. "If I didn't know better I'd think you were another of those Psykers who gave me one more good reason to drink."

" _So you would prefer to stew in self pity rather than fight this?_ " Irons demanded. " _When a man puts the greater good above anything else we reward them, or at least have the respect not to punish them too harshly. Would your Primarch truly be so offended that you did the right thing?_ "

"You really have no idea what Turian culture is like, do you?" Kravos popped open the bottle. "If it was only me who was going to burn I'd be begrudging but willing to walk up and accept my fate."

" _But it's your family and those who promoted you in the past who would also suffer, no?_ " Irons asked.

"That's how it works." Kravos nodded, slumping back into his chair and thereby abandoning any illusion of formality.

" _Under normal circumstances, yes._ "

The rim of the bottle stopped a hair's breath from tipping towards Kravos' mouth.

"...normal?"

" _What do you know about the Rite of Digeris, Admiral Pridius?_ "

Kravos lowered the bottle to his side, holding it up by the neck between two talons. "It's a last ditch measure for promoting someone to a higher rank so that they can continue in place of their predecessor without undergoing the usual ceremonial requirements. It also has consequences for both the one to invoke it and the one to be promoted by it."

" _Mainly for the former if I am reading this correctly._ " Irons observed, staring at a screen which Kravos couldn't see from his end of the link. " _The Rite of Digeris maintains your Hierarchy's tradition of holding the one to sponsor your advancement in rank responsible for your perceived failures, but I have spent years interpreting carefully worded policies and I spy with my little eye what may be a loop hole..._ "

Jason sighed and removed his cigar from his mouth. " _Oh for the love of Deathclaw Christ Greg stop stalling! You, Admiral Mopey Von Madonna! Look at your file on the Rite of Digeris, Section Three on varying forms of the Rite. There's one kind where you go through a very brief ceremony and say 'I do', which by the way seems appropriate considering how traumatic and painful my life became after my second marriage; then you have a second version where you get to say dick all in deciding whether to accept your new rank or not._ "

"Section- what?" Kravos opened his Omni-Tool, "I don't see any sections, there's only one file that describes the basic details of-"

" _You have a list of laws in that huge ass codex, right?_ " Jason demanded. " _Open it and type in Digeris! You Turians have search bars, right? Oh forget it, I'll read it._ "

The High Inquisitor cleared his throat, staring at his Pip-Boy. " _Rite of Digeris, Section Three, Subsection Two: In the event of an officer invoking the Rite of Digeris in the middle of an ongoing military operation commanded by the Turian Hierarchy and granting an advancement of rank to a subordinate without acquiring their written or verbal consent or in spite of that subordinate's written or verbal protest, followed by the immediate death or loss of ability to function in the capacity of that officer's position, if the military operation in question is aborted or deemed a failure as a result of the command of the newly promoted subordinate the officer who has invoked the Rite of Digeris shall be held fully responsible with consideration being provided to the subordinate who was promoted without providing consent or while expressing opposition to their promotion._ "

He lowered his arm and planted his cigar back between his teeth. " _Voila, you're not as deep in shit as you thought!_ "

Gregory Irons sighed at the behaviour of his old friend. " _Despite High Inquisitor Maxson's...inappropriate conduct, what he says stands. After we became aware of the circumstances of your promotion I took the liberty of perusing your codex for further information on it. I admit that I discovered this tidbit of information by mistake due to my habit of thorough examination of what we call 'the fine print'._ "

"Fine...print?" Kravos set the bottle on his desk and leaned forward, his interest piqued as well as his level of elation.

" _In my position I am met by many who approach me for authorization for funding of projects, assignment of resources and personnel and such,_ " Irons explained, " _They usually attempt to hide certain details amidst their proposals so that they might circumvent regulations, gain more than they deserve and in some way._ "

"I think we have something similar to this 'fine print' back in Citadel space." Kravos mused, thinking of Illium and its history of shady, deceptive contracts often resulting in borderline enslavement for anyone not proficient enough to look between the lines. "Why wouldn't they make this fact more open to the public?"

" _Perhaps to discourage its use, and increase the number of examples to use as a deterrent against future use._ " Irons suggested, " _I imagine that because of how rare it is for the Rite of Digeris to actually be used most Turians would not bother to actually investigate regulations behind it. You certainly never imagined being promoted from Captain to Admiral, yes?_ "

"So they didn't hide it, they just conveniently forgot to tell us." Kravos exhaled and rubbed his face. "Spirits...I feel like a damn fool. I've been locked up in here feeling sorry for myself when I'm not breaking up fights groundside. But if there's some glimmer of hope at the end of all this..."

Irons cleared his throat. " _I can't guarantee that this will protect you from any repercussions back home, Admiral. All that I am doing by this is presenting you with a potential lifeline. Whether or not it works is beyond my control._ "

"And you, the elected leader of your entire civilization, have done this while personally calling me right in my quarters...why?" Kravos leaned to the right, leaning his jaw against his fist while propping his elbow on the arm of his chair. "Perhaps as motivation to cooperate with your request?"

" _Well I wanted to threaten to bombard your camp, but I've been led to believe that that's considered rude._ " Jason muttered, " _Point is we're sending the delegation with or without you and it'll be a whole lot smoother if we do it with you, so if this gets you off your scaly ass and doing something useful for our benefit then we'll throw, shovel and spray as much hope at you as we can until you're so full of it you'll start crapping rainbows and sneezing out dandelions._ "

An awkward silence befell the conversation.

"...you certainly have a way with words, Inquisitor Maxson." Kravos said.

" _As long as it gets you doing something useful I'll become your personal fucking motivational speaker._ " Jason replied, " _So will you do us a favour or not?_ "

Kravos looked down at the condition of his uniform and then at that of his quarters. Both reflected his declining emotional condition, the once tidy and neat uniform and furniture the victim of at least one night of drunken behaviour that would have gotten him kicked right out of the Hierarhcy's chain of command if he hadn't been absolutely certain to sweep for bugs of any kind prior to downing as much as he could without killing himself.

"I may need some time to clean up so you don't have a slob speaking in your defence." He finally relented, "But I've already taken my stance against fighting you this far, so by the Spirits I'll at least carry it all the way to the Council. You have my word that I shall speak to the Council with your delegation to explain what transpired in this system under Desolas' command."

" _About fucking time!_ " Jason clapped his hands. " _Ain't met a soldier, human or otherwise, who I couldn't get moving and making themselves useful again._ "

"No offence to you, High inquisitor," Kravos said, in the process of straightening out his uniform as best as he could. "But I question whatever chain of command would allow someone with your conduct to become a commanding officer of anything."

" _Well then it's a good thing the Brotherhood ain't some prim and proper army like yours, Turian!_ " Jason laughed. " _It's a benevolent dictatorship disguised as a proper army, I'm just the first Maxson in a long time to acknowledge and take pleasure in that fact rather than take a pile of shit and call it diamonds. Now you make sure that you look presentable by the time we send you out, because if you aren't I'll-_ "

" _I think the good Admiral gets the point, Jason!_ " Irons intervened before Jason could do anymore to besmirch humanity's image in the eyes of Kravos with his behaviour unbecoming of an officer of his rank. " _We will keep you informed of when our delegation departs, Admiral Pridius. You may take whichever ship you wish as well as any number of crew or wounded Hierarchy personnel requiring more intensive treatment that they cannot obtain here in our care. Alliance Command, out._ "

The link was closed, plunging the quarters back into near darkness. Kravos shook his head and prayed that the High Inquisitor was a rare exception among Alliance commanders rather than a prime example of what he should come to expect in the coming months.

"It's one new surprise after the other," He muttered, stripping off his coat entirely. "At least this one was measurably pleasant."

"Does that mean my presence will no longer be required, Admiral?"

Kravos had almost forgotten the presence of his guest. He sighed and turned towards his bed, which he had had the wisdom to reposition far out of view of his quarters' communication panel years ago.

"That depends," He responded, "Do the odds of me being lined up for the slaughter still look good?"

Hen'ar, now dressed, had been sitting on the edge of his bed and watching his exchange with two of the highest ranking men in the Systems Alliance in silence.

"Enough that I'm confident that we're both wondering if _this_ had been done in haste." She said, making it clear what she meant by 'this'. "You thought you were as good as dead, I thought you were as good as dead, you only live once and there was the off chance that I'd be dragged down with you as well..."

"Could still happen." Kravos pointed out, tossing his jacket aside. "Besides, I think after all the regulations we've forced through a meat grinder before today we can't make our situation that much worse with one more broken rule about crew fraternization."

"Ah-ah, _command_ fraternization," Hen'ar countered, "You're a flag officer now, temporarily or not, and they do treat that worse than a lowly Captain doing this."

"Well...again, I don't see how I could possibly dig my grave any deeper by this point, supposing I end up in it at all." Kravos sat next to her. "So what do you say? One more to celebrate our possible salvation?"

Hen'ar's response was to push him down onto his back with one hand. "One more to celebrate you not sounding completely spirits damned miserable, sir."

As she leaned down towards him Kravos chuckled softly. "I can accept that."

He was the worst excuse of a Turian to ever hold the rank of Admiral, and at that moment he honestly didn't care.

Xxx

 **Brotherhood Mothership** _ **Zeta**_

 **March 19** **th** **, 2353**

From the moment that they had seen it through the cockpit canopy of their Vertibird transport to the instance where they had stepped onto the bridge none of the four could believe that they were to travel the stars aboard a piece of history.

"Oh my god, we're really here." Edward Rice whispered a prayer as he surveyed the two tiered bridge crawling with Brotherhood crew, all centered on the Captain's chair where High Inquisitor Jason Maxson himself sat...or rather a holographic image of him.

" _Welcome to my humble abode!_ " The supreme commander of all parts of the Brotherhood of Steel greeted them, rotating his chair to face them. " _Owen! You old fossil! You've gotten skinny! You need to get back to stuffing that mug of yours before you end up as skin and bones!_ "

Owen took Jason's antics in stride, having grown up alongside the slightly younger man who actually appeared to be his senior at first glance. "Always good to see you after a battle, Jason."

" _And you!_ " Jason rose up out of his chair, showing that even without the benefit of his armour or even being physically present he was built like a Yao-Guai, and pulled Victoria into a hug. " _I can finally start treating my god daughter properly! Oh all the decades of doting that I'm going to put you through, just you wait kiddo!_ "

"Whoa, is Vic getting hugged by a hologram?" Nathan asked, slack jawed.

"Solid hologram," Owen explained casually, "Don't let it surprise you, the Brotherhood always did keep the best toys for itself. It's just a walking set of mass effect fields designed to mimic solid contact."

Victoria struggled to draw breath until Jason put her back down. "G-god daughter?"

" _Did Al really keep that from you too?_ " Jason 'tsked' in disappointment. " _Owen, the next time I see your brother remind me to give him another bruise to go with the one you gave him!_ "

"Noted, Jason." Owen murmured, his attention focused more on the room itself. "So this is where my old man started it all, huh? Seized the whole ship damn near on his own."

" _Ah, yes._ " Jason nodded, his enthusiasm deflated to leave him more subdued and calm. " _This is where we really took our first step back towards space, Owen, and we owe it all to your old man. My dad and Shepard played their parts but in the end it was your father who took control of our very first star ship._ "

Nathan brushed one hand over the head of the captain's chair, which had long ago been redesigned along with most of the interior of the ship to mimic the aesthetics of the classic Alliance vessel.

"We're walking where a hero stood." He said in awe, "I never thought I'd get to step on the _Zeta._ "

" _Well congratulations Arizona, you're now the latest living legend to walk the halls of this ship._ " Jason clapped Nathan on the shoulder as his avatar walked past the younger man and took his seat back. " _You're all heroes now. The Heroes of Shanxi they're calling you! And I had Greg make sure that everybody damn well knows that Jane Parker is the biggest hero of all. Nobody is going to white wash her out of the picture just because she was a Ghoul, mark me on that._ "

Owen nodded and stepped to the front of the bridge where a forward viewing canopy had been replaced by layers of thick armour and several screens providing camera footage of the space ahead of the saucer shaped mother ship.

"I heard that you did some talking with the Turian Admiral." Owen said, observing the enhanced image of the Turian cruiser _Valor_. "You always did have a way with words, but even that surprises me."

" _The capacity for self pity transcends all species and cultural barriers, and therefore so too does the capacity for kicking someone in the ass until they get it in gear._ " Jason replied smugly. " _Just know the right thing to say or do and you can convince anybody to do what you want. If life were one of those fancy vid-simulation games with those fancy statistics for determining skill in different categories I'd have maximum charisma._ "

"And next to no subtlety," Owen added, "So are you intending to command this ship from light years away or is the Captain presently absent?"

" _The Zeta is the personal flagship of the High Inquisitor, Captain Mason._ " Jason stood up out of the chair, " _I am the Captain, but by some stroke of misfortune I found myself on Earth's moon while she was being refitted near Terra Nova. I'd have been on board in time to retake Shanxi but even I'm not immune to red tape and the griping of bureaucrats._ "

"So the _Zeta_ requires an acting commander then? Where is your XO?" Owen asked.

" _Inquisitor Martel will meet with you briefly. He should be in the middle of helping our ambassadors to settle into the guest quarters._ " Jason answered, " _Once you reach the Citadel just let these three handle the talking and wait until you're called on to give the facts. They'll probably brief you while you're underway, same with the Admiral so expect to see a lot of him._ "

"Let's not keep Martel waiting then." Owen decided, "Jason, thanks again for keeping the political heat off our backs. The last thing any of these soldiers deserve is to be made into scapegoats or have the press suffocating them. When we get back and manage to get ourselves into a bar every drink will be on me."

" _Don't make promises your wallet can't keep, Owen!_ " Jason cackled. " _I'll let you go now. High Inquisitor Maxson, out._ "

As the avatar disappeared Nathan looked at Owen in awe. "You know, after all the insane crap I've seen you do I shouldn't be surprised by the fact that you can talk like that with Jason Maxson himself."

"Spanked him when he was a little shit of a brat who I had the misfortune of being paid ten credits and hour to babysit too," Owen chuckled, "Legends have childhoods too Campbell, you should know seeing as you're technically one now too. Nathan Campbell, Hero of Shanxi!"

"Holy crap, you're right." Nathan whispered, "...sir, you just blew my mind."

Xxx

In another area previously used as crew quarters, Owen and his companions were directed to the sole conference room aboard the _Zeta_.

"Captain Mason, Inquisitor Martel has been expecting you all." The guard standing at the door said while quickly saluting. "You'll need to pass through a quick security scan, sir. This will apply for every time you enter and leave the conference room."

"Every single time?" Victoria clarified, and received a nod in response. "That's going to get very irritating very quickly if we use this room more than once or twice a day."

The guard's helmet masked his expression, but they were still able to see the subtle hint of a unrepressed shudder through his uniform. "Not just for you, ma'am."

The doors opened to a small room beyond occupied by two more guards, one on each side of a security checkpoint. As the group was made to step through one at a time, standing under the gaze of a scanning device for several seconds while a line of blue light washed over their bodies from front to back and vice versa, the two guards conversed.

"So they weren't lying, we made contact with walking, talking, dinosaurs." One of them commented, her eyes fixed on her screen while she waved each person through with one hand.

"I know! The one that came through here with Martel...oh man he looked like he could rip my head off." The other guard, a Ghoul, nodded while conducting her own analysis with her Pip-Boy. "Gotta wonder what Turians look like under that armour though."

"Ewww." The first guard grimaced. "Why would you want to know that?"

"Oh come on, you can't deny that one of those birds has a prettier mug than me." The Ghoul chuckled and cleared Nathan, the final member of the quarter to pass through. "Come ooooon. You were looking at that fringe! Don't lie to me!"

Nathan cleared his throat and quickly stepped away from the pair. "And with that, I will never look at a Turian the same way, and right before I'm supposed to go and meet ones who aren't inclined to shoot me on sight."

"Walk it off, Campbell." Victoria shook her head and patted him on the back as he passed her. "Janie might not be here to say it so I'll do it for her."

Somehow Nathan knew that Jane would appreciate that, but before he could voice that thought the doors opened and something hit him in the head.

"Absolutely not! Never, I say!" A voice with a thick Scottish accent snarled as Nathan rubbed his head and Edward ducked as another data pad was flung his way. "Skin me, burn me, shoot me but you'll never make me work with _this_ faithless rat!"

Seated at the table were a human in Inquisitorial armour and robes wielding an open flask of whisky, a very shaken Admiral Kravos Pridius, a Ghoul with the symbol of the Alliance Diplomacy Corps emblazoned on their chest and an Assaultron with a matching symbol painted onto their chassis.

"Oh that's some mighty big words coming from a suped up pea shooter on legs!" The Ghoul growled, his accent reminiscent of the enduring trend descended from the Tunnel Rats gang of Vault 101 and his attire a clear homage to the original gang itself: leather jacket, blue jeans, a pompadour wig and sun glasses.

"Gentlemen," The Inquisitor, a dark haired human male in his mid forties with a neatly trimmed beard sighed and concealed his flask, "Please, calm yourselves. _Dios, dame fuerzas_."

"I'll not be calm Inquisitor Martel!" The Assaultron slammed one fist against the table. "If you think I'll ever work with this womanizing, howlin' nyaff!"

"Howling...what?" Victoria whispered, watching the exchange.

"I ain't so keen on this dish washer actin' so high'n mighty with me." The Ghoul growled, leaning forward on the table. "You know what we call your type back home?"

"I'll show you what we _do_ with your kind back home!" The Assaultron rose to its feet.

"Enough!" Inquisitor Martel shouted, "Ambassadors, if you cannot behave accordingly I will eject you from this ship! I do not care how long it will take to acquire a delegation that can conduct itself in a way that represents the Systems Alliance positively, I will not tolerate your petty arguments here or at our destination!"

"Are we intruding?" Owen spoke up, and found three pairs of eyes and a lens fixed on him.

"Captain Mason!" The Assaultron straightened up and lowered its arms to its sides. "Apologies, sir!"

"Yeah, we were just discussing an issue of a uh...personal matter." The Ghoul stood up and smoothed out his jacket.

Kravos relaxed and thanked whatever spirits were watching over him.

"Captain, I bid you welcome to the _Zeta._ " Inquisitor Martel said, looking grateful for their arrival. "I am Inquisitor Martel, executive officer. Allow me to introduce Ambassadors DeLoria and Wallace as well as Turian Admiral Kravos Pridius."

"A pleasure to...wait, DeLoria?" Owen looked at the Ghoul. "As in _Butch_ DeLoria?"

"Oh no, no relation." Ambassador DeLoria shook his head. "It's just a popular name and the longer we Ghouls go the more likely we are to forget some tidbits like our real names."

"And...Wallace," Owen looked at the Assaultron next. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Oh uh...well it is a popular name, I would not be surprised if you've heard it before." Wallace simulated clearing his non-existent throat. "But anyways Captain, with you here perhaps we can begin."

"Agreed," Owen nodded and took a seat at the table. "To start with, I want both of you off this ship immediately."

"...Beg-pardon?" Ambassador DeLoria blinked.

"After the pathetic excuse of conduct I saw when those doors opened I think we can all agree that neither of you are suitable to represent the Alliance." Owen said firmly, "Ambassador Martel, correct me if I am wrong but all members of the Brotherhood of Steel's Inquisition are provided training in conducting diplomatic functions in addition to matters of intelligence and military, yes?"

Getting over his surprise, Martel nodded. "Yes, Captain Mason, but I don't see how you have the authority to have the ambassadors removed from their positions."

"I'll tell you what gives me the power," Owen folded his hands on the table in front of him, becoming the portrait of serenity and self control, "I am the son of Logan Mason, one of the men who united humanity and helped us to claw our way out of the irradiated ashes of the old world. I am also one of the Heroes of Shanxi. And if I were to personally drag both of you off this ship after delivering a beating the likes of which are only recorded in stories of heroes such as my father, the Courier, the Chosen One and the original Vault Dweller then not one person would dare to object or punish me for it."

His eyes moved between the two ambassadors.

"High Inquisitor Maxson is one of my closest friends, the President of the Systems Alliance personally owes me for assisting in keeping my own niece secret from me and almost everybody in Alliance space would support me just because of who my father is...much as I hate to admit that last part." Owen continued, "So believe me when I say that I can and will shoot you both in the legs and ship you back to Earth unless you both get out of this room, walk to the hangar and schedule a shuttle back down to Shanxi where you will await a new assignment from the Diplomat Corps. I will do so gladly, I will view it as a healthy form of stress relief to cope with the worst week of my life and no court will argue with my decision."

Owen now fixed his gaze on Inquisitor Martel, who managed to meet his eyes without flinching.

"And if you try to interfere with me in doing this, Inquisitor Martel, I will have you join them." Owen added. "As well as many of your crew as necessary. Now with that in mind...kindly get off of this ship and forget any notion you ever had of taking part in this delegation."

Ambassador DeLoria swallowed and slowly got up, followed out the door by Wallace. Once the doors shut behind them Owen looked at Inquisitor Martel again.

"Now tell me...why out of every member of the Diplomat Corps did you choose those two?" He demanded.

"I didn't," Martel answered, "They were the only members on Shanxi at the time, and Inquisitor Maxson made it clear that we are pressed for time. DeLoria and Wallace are old colleagues who once operated their own business in the Capital Wastelands, and despite their relationship turning sour they continued to accompany one another anywhere and everywhere."

"Well Jason has about as much sense as he did when he was ten, so I'm intervening." Owen declared, "You and Victoria are better suited to this task than those two if what I saw is any indication to go by."

"Captain, as flattering as that is those two were trained specifically for this." Martel argued, "I have only limited experience in the field of negotiating, and that is still more than what Inquisitor Grey-I mean Mason has."

Owen shrugged. "If I recall we don't need a lot of experience. We aren't going to establish an actual treaty with this Council, but simply to arrange a ceasefire with the Turians. After that the Alliance can get a real ambassador on the job of arranging more long term...arrangements."

Martel leaned back in his seat and folded his hands across his lap. "You do make a fair point, but I would be violating my present orders to deliver them both to this Council." He looked at Kravos. "Admiral, perhaps you have some input to share on this matter?"

"I actually do," Kravos admitted, "And Captain Mason, I agree with your decision in spite of its informal nature, but for different reasons."

"Do share then," Owen nodded.

"The Council may be the central pillar maintaining relations between different species and governments, but the Turian Hierarchy prioritizes the military ahead of all other organizations." Kravos explained, "Every member of the population participates in the military for some span of time, and afterwards continue to contribute in their own ways. Even our politicians maintain a pro-military stance, sometimes to a fault."

"And if they were to speak with another soldier they might be more receptive." Nathan said, "It's like back in Arizona. Tribe leaders might adhere to Alliance laws, but the Alliance has other tribals act as intermediaries on its behalf to maintain peace in the region. Better to have somebody you can relate to than some stranger who you share nothing with."

Martel nodded, moved by this logic. "If you believe that it is for the better that I and Inquisitor Mason take over as our representatives, then I shall ask forgiveness rather than permission. You've convinced me, Captain, and I shall endeavour to meet your expectations of me."

"Just get that ceasefire and I'll buy you a drink when we get home." Owen nodded. "Admiral, what can we expect when we establish communications with the Council?"

"The Hierarchy will more than likely be on full alert, but if they have refused to grant additional ships to my original mission then they may have been convinced to stand down by the Council." Kravos answered, "The Asari Republics will be mainly interested in maintaining peace, so you should have little trouble with them for now. The Salarian Union is known for possessing an unfortunate habit of spying on people it claims to be allied with, so I would make sure to sweep everything for bugs after you arrive and after you leave, but beyond that they should follow the Asari unless convinced that the Alliance represents an unacceptable threat."

"What of the Council's position on things like artificial intelligence?" Edward asked, "Didn't the codex mention that AIs are outlawed?"

"With good reason, yes, but that is because of an existing precedent which you might contradict." Kravos explained, "Despite the fear of synthetic intelligence and numerous examples of AIs behaving violently towards organics, you appear to have avoided this entirely. I would advise that you wait until the Council has declared a state of ceasefire, and more importantly until a long term ambassador has been appointed. They may react with fear by that point but the Council will not declare war on you simply for having AIs integrated into your society."

"What other points should I keep in mind if I am to represent the Alliance?" Martel asked.

"If you are only there to arrange a cessation of hostilities then the most you need to worry about is convincing them that the Alliance does not wish for conflict, and that the Turian POWs are being treated in a way that complies with Citadel conventions." Kravos answered, "If you keep the topic focused on that and make it clear that you are not authorized to negotiate anything beyond the ceasefire you seek then they should accept this and grant it in the interest of preserving life."

Martel nodded and stood up. "In that case I believe that my time should be spent preparing for my date with your Council. We shall be departing within the hour for Citadel space, and you shall have the choice of where we establish contact with your superiors and arrange our little meeting, Admiral Pridius."

"Of course," Kravos rose from his seat. "I'll make sure to maintain contact, and before we leave I'll come to a decision on a specific destination."

"Why aren't we just going to the Citadel itself?" Victoria asked. "If time is of the essence we should just go to this Council immediately."

"We must avoid doing that, because the last thing we want is to throw the Council into a panic." Martel replied, "If we choose to appear at the heart of Citadel space, entering their borders unchallenged and unauthorized and showing off our capabilities we will make our hosts frightened, suspicious and resentful. I am certain your grandfather would have told you this Victoria, had he the chance: people do not like being showed up under any circumstance, and should only be humbled when they truly require it. So we must contact them and arrange our arrival while waiting for their authorization so that they may know we are an agreeable and reasonable people."

"Sounds reasonable," Edward agreed, "A show of power wouldn't endear us to the Council, and that is exactly what we need."

Martel walked towards the door. "So when you are called to present your testimony to the Council you had best keep on your best behaviour. I am willing to return from this so that High Inquisitor Maxson may perform the obligatory lecture for disobeying orders, but I would rather not return so that I may be remembered as the fool who disobeyed orders and had us committed to a war we cannot win."

Xxx

 **Serpent Nebula**

 **The Citadel, Galactic Communications Hub**

 **March 20** **th** **, 2353**

Time dilation was an enemy which element zero and quantum entanglement communications had long ago laid to rest, but it still reared its head and interfered with the daily activities of people throughout the Galaxy. To send one message from one system to another required data to be beamed via laser through a miniature mass free tunnel created by an FTL communication buoy to propel transmissions in a process similar to how mass relays propelled ships. It was a design left over from the Prothean Empire and had revolutionized galactic communications, but it still took hours, even days for some messages to be transferred from a world such as Thessia or Sur'kesh to the Citadel.

Trying to get a message from Citadel Space to the Terminus Systems was almost impossible without the Citadel itself, for it had one thing that not even Omega had managed to replicate: the Galactic Communications Hub.

Everyday tens of millions of messages passed through here and were sent on their way to their destination. When a message was transmitted from one planet to its orbiting FTL Comm Buoy it was beamed to a secondary Comm Hub, any number of stations in charge of managing data for whole star clusters. If said message had to reach another cluster it was sent to the Citadel and then to the Secondary Hub of the cluster where the intended recipient lived.

This middle finger to relativity meant several things for the trillions of beings in the known galaxy. Online game servers were restricted to single star systems or clusters, instant messaging between clusters was only possible with a QEC, anything slower would be used with the understanding that one shouldn't expect a response for a few days.

But with this much data being transmitted literally with each millisecond there was also the risk of viruses, illegal transactions and concealed messages by criminal or terrorist organizations. The responsibility of sniffing this discourse out fell to the Citadel Data Corps, which employed tens of thousands from each cluster and worked in association with military, police and civilian organizations.

Unfortunately it was the most boring job in the universe for a young Batarian by the name of Ilen Korth. He had been a fortunate young boy who had been born into the middle class of the Hegemony to parents who had worked for a small but profitable mercenary group, eventually using this to amass enough funds to satisfy the unreasonable fees required for one to immigrate from the Hegemony. Even while living a life that most Batarian children would kill for, he could only complain about how dull and repetitive his well paying job had become.

'Join the Data Corps, manage the Galactic Net and sniff out crimes hidden from the public eyes!'

That had been the call he'd answered eagerly after finishing his education, and he found himself torn between regret and resignation at his circumstances.

"Data package number 454490328 approved for transfer from Argos Rho cluster to Hades Gamma cluster." Ilen drawled, signing off for the thousandth time on a mass of messages he had scanned for viruses or indications of criminal connections.

"Next, data package number 473002177 outbound from Hades Gamma cluster to..."

His blue tinted screen lit up bright red and text flashed across it, making him jump in his seat and adjust his head set as he read the alert.

A priority message had been directed to the Citadel, and he had been randomly selected to answer it since he had been one of many operators in the Hub between finishing on job and beginning the next.

Straightening up, Ilen cleared his throat and then accepted the transmission.

"Citadel Galactic Communications Hub, we are receiving your message. Over." He glanced at the corner of his screen and saw that the message was Turian in origin and flagged for surveillance due to the source being part of the Turian Third Fleet.

He'd wondered why messages concerning the Third had become flagged as of late, but hadn't wondered until now.

" _Citadel GCH this is Hierarchy cruiser Valor, commanded by Admiral Kravos Pridius, commanding officer of the Turian Hierarchy's Third Fleet. Over._ "

Ilen ran a quick check. " _Valor,_ your ID checks out but your rank is listed as a Captain and the current flag officer of the Third as Varis Trisun. Please verify. Over."

" _Citadel GCH, I have been promoted recently by Admiral Varis Trisun, previous commanding officer of the Third Fleet, by way of the Rite of Digeris. Admiral Trisun is deceased. Over._ "

Ilen couldn't deny that this was the sort of interest he had been seeking...but he also couldn't deny to himself that he was nervous.

"Copy that, _Valor,_ I have logged your statement and it shall be transferred to the Turian Hierarchy. What is the nature of your transmission? Over."

" _Citadel GCH, I have a priority message for the Citadel Council. Code: Encounter. Over._ "

Code Encounter...a hostile confrontation with a previously unknown species! Ilen's pulse began to race, but he kept his tone level and his voice clear.

" _Valor,_ Code: Encounter acknowledged. Please state your message and it shall be routed directly to the Council upon the termination of this transmission. Over."

" _Citadel GCH, message begins: Third Fleet has been defeated, General Desolas Arteris and Admiral Varis Trisun are dead._ "

Two of the Hierarchy's most notable flag officers, dead?!

" _Hostile entity designated 'Systems Alliance'. Hostilities were initiated by third party. General Arterius authorized and led a full invasion of Systems Alliance territory, resulting in casualties on both sides. Majority of Third Fleet is still intact but held as prisoners of war within Alliance territory. The Alliance is keeping them alive and treating them honorably, and wishes to open diplomatic channel to Citadel and Turian Hierarchy. Message ends. Over._ "

Ilen couldn't believe what he was hearing. A Turian armada defeated, two star leaders dead, and the newly promoted commander was limping home to convey a request for peace instead of demanding reinforcements. This was something unheard of in his time. None had ever defeated the full might of the Hierarchy, not so severely.

" _Valor..._ message received and rerouted to Citadel Council." Ilen muttered after several moments of silence. "Please stand by for further communications. Over."

" _Citadel GCH, I copy. Maintaining position in Aethon Cluster, in proximity to Communication Buoy 2-9. Over._ "

Ilen cut the link and breathed in. "By the pillars..."

He had his wish, something interesting was finally happening, but that didn't necessarily mean he was going to like it.

Xxx

 **Citadel Tower**

 **Council Chambers**

The debates had been long, but for the Council the matter had been quickly addressed. Instead of weeks of arguing back and forth the outcome of the discussion had been clear from the start, the only issue being how it would be reached. Representatives of all governments affiliated with the Council had been present, voicing the views of their leaders on the matter of Desolas Arterius' rogue fleet.

For the past hour the Council had retreated into their private conference room for one final discussion, reviewing what they had learned from the ships to return from Relay 314 and what could be implied. Now dozens of diplomats gathered along the edge of the Council chamber, waiting in nervous anticipation for the representatives of the three greatest factions in the galaxy to make their return. Turians, Asari and Salarians were the most common, followed by Volus, Elcor and Hanar as well as the odd Batarian. Others such as the Quarians, Krogan and Vorcha were not privileged with positions in the Citadel Tower without special permission.

Silence befell the Council chamber when the three robed figures emerged and took their places on the raised platform behind three podiums.

"The Citadel Council has come to a final decision on the matter of General Desolas Arterius and the Turian Hierarchy's Third Fleet." Councillor Tevos announced, dispersing with the usual formality of calling the room to order first. "After reviewing the evidence surrounding this situation we, as the elected representatives of the Turian Hierarchy, Asari Republics and Salarian Union have decided that the actions of General Arterius contradict the mandate of this Council and all governments affiliated with it."

Councillor Zenthis spoke next. "General Arterius has taken military action against an unknown and unknowing species, declaring war in the name of his people and by extension this Council. Therefore we find his actions to be unacceptable and his judgement to be in doubt, as he has introduced the risk reprisals against all of Council space with his reckless actions."

"From the available information taken from combat data and sworn testimony we have collected three key facts which contribute to our decision." Councillor Zenthis opened his Omni-Tool. "Firstly: Patrol group fourteen of the Third Fleet did come under fire by a hostile force, but this was later confirmed to be separate from the group which the patrol was in the process of making contact with, which also came under fire. This fact casts reasonable doubt on the idea that whatever species or faction existing beyond Relay 314 is in fact completely hostile and that a diplomatic route is out of the question."

"Secondly: Desolas Arterius was fully aware of this fact and chose, in spite of it, to utilize his own authority to initiate a full scale invasion of the space beyond Relay 314. By doing this he has willfully disregarded existing evidence supporting the possibility of potential contact through peaceful means and non-aggressive methods of deducing the guilty party behind the initial skirmish."

"And thirdly: After the return of a portion of the Third Fleet to Turian space, Desolas Arterius did place a request for further support in his unauthorized operations. This, as well as testimony from countless officers and crew personnel among the Third Fleet have verified that Desolas Arterius has engaged in hostilities with a collective of different species, bypassing the leadership of the Turian Hierarchy and this Council."

"With that stated, this Council, acting with the authority granted to it by the Turian Hierarchy, hereby strips General Desolas Arterius of his rank and authority," Councillor Sparatus said, having the decency to not look or sound less than enthused by this executive order. "We also implore the Turian Hierarchy to form a task force to be dispatched with the intent of locating General Arterius and the Third Fleet and intervening in whatever unauthorized military actions they are engaged in. General Arterius is to be arrested on charges of intentionally inciting interstellar conflict and unauthorized aggressive military action. The Third Fleet is to be returned to Turian Hierarchy borders, and a Council Spectre shall be appointed to investigate the occurrences beyond Relay 314."

The mood of the chamber could be described as concerned, intrigued and excited all rolled into one. An event like this shook the usually peaceful foundation that the Council stood on, introducing something new to the usually cyclical day to day life of most citizens in Citadel space. Some politely applauded this announcement regardless of their opinions of it and the assembly was permitted to disperse, returning to their previous activities.

As Councillor Zenthis stepped away from his podium and pondered the idea of retiring from his position at the conclusion of this issue he received a message on his Omni-Tool. When Tevos and Sparatus received a message at the exact same time as him tipped the aging Salarian off that the message was perhaps intended for all three of them, and therefore of high importance.

When he opened his Omni-Tool and scanned the contents of the message he realized just how right he was.

"We're too late." He realized, his face masked with an eerie calmness. "Damn our foolishness, we were too late."

Xxx

End of Chapter

 **Alright...now, looking back I noted a lot of mistakes I made that need to be addressed.**

 **1) Councillor Zenthis' name randomly changing to Councillor Zenith and back.**

 **2) Admiral Trisun being mentioned as alive in a post-chapter file which states that she had not been extradited after the Battle of Shanxi.**

 **3) General Desolas' initial ship, the Galius, being referred to as the Nova in Fall of Shanxi (Part 6).**

 **4) The Systems Alliance being referred to initially as the Alliance of Nations in Chapter 1: Collision.**

 **These are just a few among many and I apologize for them. The more time that I take between posting chapters, the more time I have to reflect on places where I messed up. Inconsistencies, lapses in logic, convoluted ideas and a thousand other things that I wish I could just go back and fix without taking away time from working on future chapters lay behind me.**

 **I don't say this to try and gain sympathy, I only say it to inform you that I am aware of these mistakes and will attempt to avoid repeating them. I say this because you, as the readers, are the ones who really suffer from these tumbles I experience and I don't like to detract from your experience.**

 **Also, the next few chapters will be shorter and will help to speed things along through negotiations with the Council. You won't have to sit through five to six chapters with over a hundred pages' worth of text of the Alliance playing political cat and mouse with the Council.**

 **Also...for anybody who feels that the Council may have acted in a way that is out of their character...tell me what we actually know about the Council in canon.**

 **1) The Turian Hierarchy would gladly invade and subjugate humanity? WRONG. The Turians were not initially aware that they were facing a new species and saw the First Contact War as a policing action rather than an invasion, and slavery on any level is outlawed in Council Space. Additionally, the only client race the Turians have is the Volus, who voluntarily took this position for the benefits of the Turian Hierarchy's military power. I see a worst case scenario of the First Contact War ending with humanity as a client race which slowly regains independence over time, and the Turians begrudgingly respect them for their fierce resistance, leading to them inevitably letting humanity lead itself again.**

 **2) The Council hates humanity and is devoid of sense? WRONG. In the first game they had no initial evidence of Saren's involvement, and later they only had Shepard's claims of the Reapers to go on with no actual physical evidence until Sovereign showed up. They were foolish to decry Sovereign as a Geth ship, but you have to admit that in real life most politicians and common people would be hesitant to believe something like this. And when the Reapers finally arrived they did what we would do: worry about their own borders rather than lend resources to something that isn't guaranteed to work, and even then over time they all handed over fleets and armies to lend aid to the Crucible and retaking Earth. What you call unreasonable, characters within the series who don't have the benefit of viewing events from our perspective call 'poorly informed choices'.**

 **3) The Council would gladly declare war against humanity simply to force it to join? WRONG. The Council does not rule the species aligned to it, it simply serves to represent the Big Three and mediate between governments while using authority granted to it by those governments, who in turn reap the benefits of this arrangement and submit to rules which all races are bound by. It has never actually declared war in its existence, only reacted to hostile moves by the Rachnii and Krogan and later the Reapers. Even the mere existence of AI wouldn't make them immediately jump the gun because that is simply not in the Council's nature. Their aim is to maintain peace at all costs, not declare war the moment some species whose traditions disagree with their own walks onto the galactic stage.**

 **4) The Council is heavily flawed and has made poor decisions in the past? RIGHT. That's given with any leadership, but you know what else the Council accomplished? When humanity was still waging wars between kingdoms and tribes the Council was experiencing whole centuries which lacked major interstellar conflicts. When humanity had two world wars in the span of a single century the Krogan Rebellion was a footnote in any history book and the last major war to ravage the galaxy. Granted, it could have handled the Krogan dilemma better, but the Genophage actually was the best solution in its time because there weren't influential Krogan like Wrex around. And the Krogan themselves were the best solution to the Rachnii at the time, perhaps more so than the Turians would have been even if they'd met the Council at the time of the Rachnii War. Their only real failure was not forcing the Batarians to drop slavery, and that was only because trying to force the issue would have led to the one thing they were meant to avoid at all costs; even then they still inconvenienced the Hegemony by reducing it to 'a paper tiger', ensuring it didn't have the strength to expand its borders aggressively and weakening it to the point where a fledgling Alliance was able to cow the Batarians in short order.**

 **I'm not saying this to glorify the Council, but to point out that despite how much you might not personally like Sparatus, Valern and Tevos in the games they and their predecessors have done the best of the one job they have: keeping the peace and minimizing the potential for large scale violence between radically different cultures and serving as an impartial voice of reason and authority.**


End file.
